AltAf HuSSAin, tAHirul QAdri
vow to turn iSlAmAbAd into
tAHrir SQuAre on 14tH
SAy long mArCH Aimed At
SyStem, not regime CHAnge
AltAf HuSSAin ASkS Army to
join ‘revolution’

Calling upon the army and other national institutions to
join, not hinder, their “revolution”, leaders of Tehreek-eMinhajul Quran (TMQ) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement
(MQM) on Tuesday vowed to turn Islamabad into Pakistan’s
Tahrir Square on January 14. The emerging alliance has
sent alarm bells ringing for the ruling Pakistan People’s
Party (PPP), of which the MQM is a major ally, and
President Asif Ali Zardari summoned Prime Minister Raja
Pervez Ashraf to Karachi to discuss the future strategy.
Political analysts are still uncertain about the intentions of
TMQ chief Dr Tahirul Qadri, who along with his newfound
ally Altaf Hussain, has declared to march on the country’s
federal capital to press electoral reforms leading to, what he
says, “a change of system, not government”. Tuesday saw
the MQM’s self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain flexing his
political muscles by holding a massive political gathering,
titled “Safar-e-Inqilab-e-Pakistan”, at Jinnah Ground.
Continued on page 04

Four people were killed and 35 others injured on
Tuesday when a bomb planted on a motorcycle went
off near Ayesha Manzil in Karachi’s Federal B area,
just as participants of Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s
(MQM) “Safar-e-Inqilab-e-Pakistan” rally at Jinnah
Ground in Azizabad were making their way home.
The bomb was planted on a motorcycle which was
parked near Ayesha Manzil between Shadyana Marriage Lawn and Al-Saud CNG filing station, close to
the space reserved for parking buses that brought attendants to the rally.
According to Karachi West Deputy Inspector
General (DIG) Asif Aijaz Sheikh, the blast shattered
the windows of most of the buses and was heard as
far as the Numaish area.
Law enforcement personnel, paramilitary forces,
the Bomb Disposal Squad and investigation agencies
rushed to the spot and cordoned off the site to ascertain the cause of the explosion.

The deceased, Rehan, Tayyab, Hashim and Talib
Hussain were all members of the MQM.
The injured were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) and Sindh Government Hospital Liaquatabad (SGHL) for treatment.
Talking to Pakistan Today, the ASH medical superintendent (MS) said condition of five of the injured was critical.
DIG Asif Ejaz Sheikh said the improvised explosive device (IED), which contained two to three kilogrammes of explosives and ball bearings, was placed
in the toolbox of the motorcycle and was detonated
with a remote controlled device.
“Though nobody has claimed responsibility for
the blast so far, the incident was similar to the one
that took place near Cantonment Railway Station,”
Sheikh said. “Two more bombs have been recovered
from the surroundings,” he added.
The blast has raised serious questions regarding
the effectiveness of law enforcement agencies, as a
checkpost of Sachal Rangers was a stone’s throw away
from the blast site.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court on
Tuesday suspended a summoning order by the Public
Accounts Committee (PAC) served on the apex court’s
registrar, asking him to appear before the PAC in connection with the scrutiny of the SC accounts.
Earlier, the registrar had also snubbed the PAC
summons in a statement and had refused to get the
accounts scrutinised.
The special bench comprising Justice Ejaz Afzal
Khan, Justice Gulzar Ahmed and Justice Sheikh
Azmat Saeed suspended the summons while taking
up a petition moved by Rashid A Rizvi, former president of the Karachi Bar Association.
Munir A Malik, the counsel for the petitioner,
contended that the PAC had summoned the registrar
regarding the administration of expenditures which
negated the constitutional scheme of the country.
He said the PAC had no mandate over the accounts of the apex court under Articles 78 and 81 of
the constitution. He said under the trichotomy of
powers and independence of the judiciary, which he
linked with the fundamental rights of the citizens, the
parliamentary body could not summon the registrar.

He said the administrative expenditure, including
salaries of the judges of the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court, were being charged from the
Federal Consolidated Fund, which was beyond the
purview of PAC under Articles 78 and 81.
He said the PAC jurisdiction was confined to the
funds granted by the National Assembly under public
accounts. To the bench’s query about the functioning
of the PAC, the counsel replied that the PAC was
working under Articles 67 and 198.
Malik also referred to Article 68, saying the provision placed a clear bar on discussing the code of the
conduct of the judges of the superior judiciary in parliament, which was similarly applicable to the administration expenditure of the judiciary. After hearing
the preliminary contentions, the bench also issued
notice to the attorney general for Pakistan.
Justice Afzal said the parliamentary watchdog did
not have the authority to audit the expenditure of the
courts, as according to the constitution, the judiciary
was treated as an autonomous institution.
The bench said in its order that they would like to
suspend proceedings if any before the PAC over the
issue and adjourned the hearing until date in office.
Continued on page 04

Dr Hasan askari Rizvi says;
Dynastic leaders and democracy: Not as much of a bad idea as
it sounds.

Look

Malik Muhammad ashraf says;
Game changer or a spoiler: Qadri seems intent on throwing a
spanner in the works.

Story on Page 12

Story on Page 09

Articles on Page 10-11

US allowed
weapons’ shipment
via Torkham
ISLAMABAD
inp

Pakistan on Tuesday allowed the United
States to transport its weapons to
Afghanistan through Torkham and
Chaman.
The Finance Ministry issued a notification in this regard under which Customs
General Order 2012 was amended.
The notification allows transportation of
army vehicles and light weapons. However, transportation of uranium and
chemical weapons would be prohibited.
It may be mentioned that the US issued
$590 million to Pakistan last week for
the losses incurred during the war on
terror.

Fog disrupts
traffic on Motorway,
GT Road

LaHoRE: Children hold placards during a demonstration outside the press club in support of polio workers. ONLINE

Pakistan and India on Monday carried
out the annual exchange of lists of nuclear installations and facilities covered
under the prohibition of attack agreement between the two countries.
“The governments of both the countries
are required to exchange such lists in accordance with Article-II of the Agreement on prohibition of attacks against
nuclear installations and facilities between Pakistan and India of 31 December
1988,” said a Foreign Office statement.
A list of requisite facilities in Pakistan
was officially handed over to a representative of the Indian high commission at
the Foreign Office while India provided
its list to the Pakistani high commission
in New Delhi.
A separate statement issued by the Foreign Office read that the nuclear neighbours also carried out the exchange of
lists of prisoners.
“According to the Agreement on Consular Access signed between Pakistan
and India on 21 May 2008, both countries are required to exchange lists of
prisoners in each other’s custody twice a
year, on 1 January and 1 July, respectively,” it read.
“Consistent with the provisions of this
Agreement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over the list of Indian prisoners in Pakistan to the Indian High
Commission in Islamabad on Tuesday,”
the statement said.

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Imran for chalking out
counterterrorism strategy
PTI chief urges government, political parties and stakeholders to sit
together to chalk out anti-terrorism plan
g

ISLAMABAD

I

sTaff REpoRT

N a major policy-shift, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)
Chairman Imran Khan on
Tuesday came down hard onr
terrorists and called upon the
government, political parties and all other
stakeholders to sit together on a single
platform and chalk out a comprehensive
strategy to flush out terrorists from the
country once and for all.
Khan has been taken as a Taliban
apologist and analysts across the world
call him a pro-Taliban politician who has
been critical of the country’s decision to
join the US-led war against terrorism.
He has also been called a major critic
of the drone attacks and he organised a
peace march to Waziristan in October
that caught attention of the international
and local media.
Terming the menace of terrorism the
biggest challenge for the country in 2013,
Khan said the menace of terrorism was a
major hurdle in the country’s progress.
“Terrorism has been the main
cause of the prevailing economic
crisis. The government
should take immediate

steps to provide protection to the people,
which is their constitutional obligation,”
he said.“Year 2012 was the most challenging year for Pakistan. The government’s
writ totally eroded across the country and
terrorism reached all-time high as target
killers, extortionists and sectarian assassins were at liberty to strike the innocent
people at will, while the kidnappers were
out there to kidnap the people and get

ransom as a routine matter,” he added.
Condemning the killing of 21 Levies
officials by the Taliban and the targeting
of a bus carrying pilgrims in Mastung that
claimed another 20 lives, Khan said during the last five years, thousands of innocent people and security personnel had
embraced martyrdom in various terrorist
activities, which spoke volumes of the incumbent government’s ineptness and incompetence.
The PTI chief urged the government
to overcome its ineptness and play its
constitutional role so that the people
could live a peaceful life. He urged the
government to realise its responsibilities
and work out a well-thought-out plan by
taking all political parties and stakeholders on board to weed the menace of terrorism out from the country forever.
Khan said due to the uncertain security situation, foreign investors were
not ready to invest in Pakistan, while
Pakistani businessmen had been
transferring their capital abroad,
adding that during the last five years,
thousands of small and big industries had been shifted
abroad, leaving thousands of employees
jobless.

LAHORE
inp

Thick fog continued to disrupt traffic on
motorways and GT Road in different
parts of Punjab and some areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) on Tuesday.
According to Motorway Police, the Motorway remained closed for traffic from
Lahore to Pindi Bhattian interchange for
several hours.
Due to the closure of the Motorway, the
traffic was diverted to the Grand Trunk
(GT) Road. The police said further there
was fog in most of the areas between
Multan and Gujjar Khan. The police advised motorists to drive slowly and
switch on fog lights while driving in the
late night and morning hours during
next few days. They also requested people to stay indoors and avoid unnecessary travelling.

Police foil
terrorism bid
in Peshawar
PESHAWAR
onLinE

Police foiled a terrorism bid in the suburban area of Sarband by defusing 70
kilograms of explosives on Tuesday.
The bomb was planted in a drum outside
the house of a tribal chief in the semitribal village of Keena Bala.
After being informed by a local, the
bomb disposal squad reached the spot
and defused the explosives.
Meanwhile, police and FC personals have
cordoned off the area and started a
search operation.

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:25 AM Page 3

03

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:25 AM Page 4

04
KaRaCHi: president asif Zardari and prime Minister Raja pervez ashraf discuss
the political situation in a meeting at bilawal House on Tuesday. ONLINE

US Secretary of State Hillary
Clinton “is making excellent
progress” as she recovers
from a blood clot in her head.
A statement issued from
her medical team said a scan
discovered the clot in the
space between her brain and
her skull, but that it did not
result in a stroke or any neurological damage. Doctors
Lisa Bardack and Gigi El-Bayoumi said they “are confident
she will make a full recovery”
and that she “is in good spirits, engaging with her doctors,
her family, and her staff.”
The statement, issued
late Monday, said the secretary of state is being
treated with blood thinners
and will be released once
the medication dose has
been established.
Clinton was taken to New
York-Presbyterian Hospital
Sunday, after doctors discovered a blood clot while per-

forming a follow-up exam for
a concussion she suffered two
weeks ago, when she fainted
due to dehydration from a
stomach virus.
Clinton’s illness forced
her to cancel travel plans and
public appearances in recent
weeks, including a congressional hearing about the
deadly events at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya on
September 11. Doctor Raj
Narayan, chair of neurosurgery at North Shore University Hospital and Long
Island Jewish Medical Center
in New York, told the Reuters
news agency Clinton’s “condition is not very common, but
it certainly happens”.
Narayan, who is not
treating Clinton, said Clinton’s fall could have triggered
the production of a blood protein that causes blood to clot.
Fast response: Baltimore-based Doctor Jeffrey
Quartner told VOA Monday
that for any type of blood clot,
quick treatment is critical.

HE White House and
top Republicans have
struck a dramatic
deal to avert huge
New Year tax increases and postpone automatic
spending cuts that had threatened
to send the US economy into recession.
After months of agony over
the crisis, weeks of debate about
a possible solution and days of
intense closed-door negotiations, members of the US Senate
voted 89-8 early on Tuesday to
pass a controversial bill that
averts the ‘fiscal cliff’.
It now goes to the House of
Representatives, which could hold
a vote on the measure later on
New Year’s Day.
If agreed by Congress, it would

hand President Barack Obama a
victory by increasing tax rates on
households
earning
over
$US450,000 ($A436,000) a year
but exempt everyone else from a
planned tax increase.
‘While neither Democrats nor
Republicans got everything they
wanted, this agreement is the right
thing to do for our country and the
House should pass it without
delay,’ Obama said in a statement
after the vote.
The deal puts off $US109 billion in budget cuts across the government for two months, but in
the process sets the stage for a new
showdown between Obama’s Democrats and Republicans in dysfunctional Washington at the end
of February.
‘There’s more work to do to reduce our deficits, and I’m willing
to do it,’ Obama said.
Vice-President Joe Biden, who

negotiated the deal with top Senate Republican Mitch McConnell,
trooped to Capitol Hill to sell it to
Democratic senators, some of
whom wanted tax increases to kick
in at a lower threshold.
Had no deal been struck, experts warned that the fragile US
economy could have been sent
spinning back into recession by
the $US500 billion combined
whack from spending cuts and
tax rises.
In the end, the deal was
clinched a few hours before a midnight deadline. The Senate vote
came just after 2.00am while the
House was not due back into session until Tuesday.
Now it remains for Republican
House Speaker John Boehner to
rally his restive conservative coalition around the pact, which will
likely need some Democratic votes
in the House to pass.

At least 300 Baloch insurgents are getting
training across the border to spread unrest
in Pakistan, a report stated. According to
reports, Pakistani intelligence officials
handed over a secret list to Central Investigation Agency (CIA) during a meeting in
Washington. The report stated that insurgents were getting $300 a month in salary.
It was also mentioned in the report that the
US and NATO forces were taking care of
Afghan security, thus, they would be held
responsible if insurgents from across the
border carried out attacks inside Pakistan.
On the other hand, the US officials have rejected Pakistan’s report, saying no such
training camps existed in Afghanistan.
In response, the officials have directed the
authorities in Quetta to recheck the names
and asked for more evidence in this regard.
The Baloch men are purportedly receiving
the training with a single aim of avenging
the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti.

SC snubs PAC for issuing
notice to its registrar
Continued fRom page 01

The bench also repeated similar notices on
identical petitions moved by Rawalpindi
Bar Association President Shaikh Ahsan
and Sindh Bar Association. Until 2005, the
registrar used to appear before the PAC – a
practice discontinued since. The committee
has been urging the Supreme Court to review its decision since 2008. The Supreme
Court is of the view that since its allocations
are made out of the Federal Consolidated
Fund, they cannot be discussed by the PAC.
Other departments like the Presidency,
Senate, National Assembly, Election Commission of Pakistan and Auditor General of
Pakistan will also claim exemptions. These
departments also receive their budget allocation from the Federal Consolidated Fund.

Pak assumes presidency of UN Security Council
n

PM will be in New York to chair January 21 open debate on peacekeeping
UNITED NATIONS
onLinE

Pakistan on Tuesday assumed this
month’s presidency of the UN Security Council and will hold special sessions
on
peacekeeping
and
counterterrorism.
“During its presidency, Pakistan
will help Council members to forge
consensus and bridge differences.
Ours will be an effective presidency,”
Pakistan’s Permanent Representative
to the UN Masood Khan said.
Continued fRom page 01

The gathering was also addressed by Dr Qadri, who
said the day had marked
the start of a revolutionary
journey.
While the TMQ leader
described the so-called Long
March a peaceful revolution
for giving the aggrieved
masses their basic rights, the
MQM chief said he had found
a “big brother” in Dr Qadri in
his struggle against the
decades-old hereditary system in the country, where
corruption and feudalism
were deep-rooted.
Dr Qadri told the gathering that he wanted a caretaker setup that was
impartial, powerful and
courageous enough to introduce electoral reforms.
“We have no hidden
agenda. Our agenda is
January 14, our agenda is
the elimination of feudalism and capitalism,” the
TMQ chief said.
MQM chief Altaf Hussain
called for cleansing the assemblies of corrupt politicians, saying the revolution
was to rid the crises-laden

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Pakistan began its two-year
term as non-permanent member of
the 15-nation Security Council last
year and will be the president of the
UN body for January, the first time
that Pakistan has assumed the rotational office of the UNSC during its
present term.
Prime Minister Raja Pervez
Ashraf would be in New York to chair
the January 21 open debate on ‘UN
Peacekeeping: a Multidimensional
Approach’, which would take a comprehensive view of UN peacekeeping.

Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani
Khar would chair a ministerial
level session on January 15 on
counterterrorism.
Khan said the debate would
provide an opportunity to the
council members and the general
UN membership to have a “holistic view of the continuing threats
and challenges posed by international terrorism and the best ways
of formulating and implementing
coherent and comprehensive responses to this menace”.

“We have put the difficult issue of
counterterrorism on the agenda of the
council for a special debate. Terrorism
can only be rooted out through a comprehensive approach of deterrence,
dialogue and development,” Pakistan’s UN envoy added.
Previously, Pakistan has been
elected to the Security Council six
times.
The UN Security Council has five
veto-wielding permanent members –
the United States, Britain, France,
Russia and China – and 10 nations
that are elected as non-permanent
members without veto powers.

‘Revolution’ Rising
masses of exploitation and
highhandedness.
“Only those facing problems can understand the
masses’ troubles. We are out
to rid the country of feudalism,” he told a lively audience
comprising thousands of his
supporters.
The two leaders, in their
high-pitched
speeches,
called upon all politico-religious parties, as well as the
armed forces to join the
“million march”, as Dr
Qadri has dubbed it. PML-Q
leaders Chaudhry Shujaat
Hussain and Chaudhry Pervez Elahi have responded
positively to their call.
“Islamabad would become Tahrir Square on January 14. But this revolution
would be peaceful, aimed at
giving rights back to the
poor,” said Qadri, who some
quarters believe is bent
upon delaying the forthcoming general election
with the covert support of
establishment.
Brushing aside the im-

pression that he had a foreign
agenda and that he wanted to
become the caretaker PM,
Qadri said those spreading
such propaganda were liars.
“My mission is to uphold the constitution of
Pakistan. My mission is to
restore
Jinnah’s
true
democracy,” he said.
The TMQ chief said his
party wanted the next polls to
be contested by politicians
who were honest and constitutionally eligible.
“We are not opposed to
politics and this address is for
the restoration of corruptionfree politics,” he said.
In his speech, MQM chief
Hussain said hundreds of his
party workers were subjected
to extra-judicial killing and
the MQM was maligned with
baseless allegations.
Altaf said both the MQM
and TMQ were upholders of
the cause of the oppressed
and downtrodden people.
Appealing to the masses
to donate for making the January 14 march a success, he

said no worldly force could
now stop the revolution,
which would end only after
reaching “its destination”.
“Army and other national
institutions should join this
revolution instead of hindering it,” the MQM chief said.
Altaf also asked the
chief election commissioner whether he was able
to disqualify corrupt politicians and bar them from
contesting election.
“This march is for bringing change, not for destabilising the government,” clarified
Altaf, whose party is itself a
part of the PPP-led coalition
government at the Centre and
in Sindh.
Underlining lingering issues like CNG shortage, the
MQM chief said the povertystricken masses were starving
at the hands of corruption.
“January 14 would reveal
what the people actually
want,” he said.
The calls for a revolution,
however, appeared meaningless for a Sindh minister.

In a statement, Provincial Minister for Excise and
Taxation Mukesh Kumar
Chawla said the lovers of
long march must proceed
with their desire.
“The government would
face all undemocratic forces
with its full capacity,” he said.
Political analyst Mujahid
Barelvi said revolutions were
always bloody and primarily
aimed at regime change. “But
these two parties say we don’t
want a regime change.
Many ambiguities are
there about the objectives of
this long march,” he said.
Another analyst went a
step further and told a TV anchor that the “drama seemed
to be aimed at blackmailing”.
“There is a credibility
issue with Dr Qadri. I don’t
understand what this march
is aimed at,” he said. He,
however, said that the supporters of the march from the
MQM and PML-Q had several complaints against the
ruling PPP, so were pressurising the latter.
“The MQM is displeased
with the PPP on the demarcation issue in Karachi,” the analyst added.

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:25 AM Page 5

Bomb discovered,
dismantled in city
KARACHI
onLinE

A sophisticated heavy bomb was recovered from the sensitive Orangi Town
area of Karachi on the first day of the
year 2013 which was later disposed, officials said on Tuesday. Police said that
the locally made bomb had four batteries and circuit wires attached to it, and
was disposed and taken into possession
by the bomb disposal squad.
The law and order situation in Karachi
during the year 2012 remained shaky
amid scores of bomb blasts and other incidences of violnece. Nonetheless, several explosives were dismantled
successfully by the capable personnel of
the city’s bomb disposal squad.
Meanwhile, the Sindh government had
banned pillion-riding and display of
arms in the city to avoid terrorism related incidents from happening.

let them do long
march: Chawla
KARACHI
sTaff REpoRT

KaRaCHi: a large number of MQM workers attend the rally titled ‘safar-e-inquilab-e-pakistan’ at Jinnah Ground. ONLINE

Punjab govt
hurdle in ‘change’,
says Altaf
KARACHI

BLOODSHED CONTINUES
8 lose lives to targeted killings in Karachi

sTaff REpoRT

Muttahida Quami Movement
(MQM) Chief altaf Hussain
tuesday condemned the withdrawal of Dr tahirul Qadri’s
security by the punjab government and said the provincial
government was greatly disturbed by the wave of change
sweeping across the length
and breadth of the province.
an MQM statement issued
from London secretariat
quoted altaf as telling Hassan
nisar, a renowned columnist,
in a telephonic conversation.
answering a question about
the support extended by MQM
to Dr Qadri, altaf said a revolution had become the fate of
the country and oppressed
and deprived people of the
country could no longer be
stopped from making a struggle to change their fate by
bringing an end to the outdated political system of the
country.
He said the punjab government was nervous. “propaganda was launched in punjab
in order to stop people from
coming towards MQM. But the
fate has created such circumstances that a powerful voice
for changing the decaying political system has risen from
the punjab itself.”
“people from Karachi to Khyber want a revolution in the
country. the journey has
started now and it can never
be stopped.”
He said the writers and intellectuals having wish for a real
change and an end to the feudal system should support this
revolutionary struggle
through their pen.

KARACHI

a

sTaff REpoRT

T least eight people
have lost their lives to
the ongoing spate of
killings in the largest
city and economic hub
of the country. The ‘trend’ of targetedkillings in the city continued on Tuesday as armed men resorted to direct
and indiscriminate firing on unarmed
citizens.
Rescue sources said that a person
had been shot and killed in the Metroville area. Similarly, police sources
said that two people had been injured
in firing by unknown people at a clinic
located in Shershah.
About four people were injured in
firing in the areas of Orangi Town,
Mewashah and Ayub Goth. The law
enforcement agencies seem to have no
answer to the deterioration of the law
and order situation in the city.
two KILLeD 40 wounDeD In
BoMBIng
near
aIsHa
ManzIL: At least two persons were
killed and 40 others sustained injuries
following a powerful explosion that
took place at the main roundabout near
the Aisha Manzil furniture market,
where minutes earlier a massive rally
of the MQM and Tehreek-e-Minhajul
Quran had concluded on Tuesday. According to DIG Asif Aijaz Shaikh, the
explosives ahd been planted in a
motor-cycle which had been parked in
between buses which were to take the
returning crowd home.
At least forty people were injured
and some of them are in critical condition. They have been shifted to Abbasi Shaheed and other hospitals of
the city. A number of buses and other
vehicles were also damaged, police
said. An eye witness said that the blast
had taken place in a motorcycle when
the people had been returning to their
buses to go back home after attending
the rally. A large number of people

42 injured in aerial firing
KARACHI
sTaff REpoRT

Although, the Sindh government had imposed ban on aerial firing on the eve
of New Year night, 42 people were injured in intermittent aerial firing across
the metropolis during night between Monday and Tuesday. At least 12 injured
were brought to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), 14 to Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) and 16 injured were rushed to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital
(ASH). Incidents of gun shot injuries were reported from North Karachi, Saddar, Defence, Malir, Sharae Faisal, Gulistan-e-Jauhar, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, New Karachi, Old City Area, Orangi Town, Landhi and Korangi. An
emergency had been imposed at JPMC, CHK and ASH on New Year night. The
police and Rangers launched search operation in many areas of the city following aerial firing but no arrest was reported in these raids.

Provincial Minister for Excise and Taxation Mukesh Kumar Chawla on Tuesday
said the present government believed in
democratic norms and every one has the
right of freedom of expression. The government would face all such undemocratic forces boldly, the minister said while
talking to media persons on Tuesday
here at his camp office. Chawla said the
Pakistan People’s Party was united
under the leadership of President
Zardari and was not afraid of anybody.
The PPP saved Pakistan and it knew how
to save it. Those who are willing to do
the long march should fulfill their desire, he added. The provincial minister
said: “Government always welcomes
healthy criticism. Millions young people
were provided jobs. Steps were taken to
eradicate corruption.” Chawla said no
other party except PPP had served the
people and no other political party could
compete with them in respect of sacrifices and services. “Pakistan is passing
through a critical juncture. This time demands all political parties to prepare
themselves for election but not for the
long march. They should avoid blame
game and motivate their workers to cast
their votes in elections”, he said.

SC upholds stay
order against
local govt act
KARACHI
onLinE

had had gathered at the point where
the explosives had been detonated,
another eye witness said.
Hospital sources said that four injured were in critical condition. Children and women were also among the

injured, rescue sources said.
The shock-wave of the explosion
was felt many kilometres away from
the epicentre. Police and Rangers cordoned off the area and started collecting evidences.

The Supreme Court upheld the stay order
against Sindh Local Government Act till
16th of this month. A three-member bench
headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry heard the case in Islamabad on Tuesday. During the hearing,
Sindh government’s lawyer Anwar Mansoor made a submission for an adjournment of the hearing as he had to leave for
Britain for medical treatment. The court
acceding to the lawyer’s submission adjourned the hearing until 16th and restrained the Sindh government not to
transfer any department to the local government during this period. However, the
chief justice asked Anwar Mansoor Khan
to tell his client that during this period of
stay order there shouldn’t be any breach.
Anwar Mansoor Khan said if any such
thing happens, then he would give up
pleading for the Sindh government as the
institution of judiciary was most important
to him and added that he never requested
for adjournment from the court in the past.
The chief justice told the lawyer you need
not take back your power of attorney as we
knew how to deal with a situation.

HE bureaucracy is famous
for placing hurdles in the way
of ministers carrying out different assignments, and the
latest incident in this regard is
the case of Sindh Minister for Women Development Department Tauqir Fatima
Bhutto and her department’s secretary who
are at loggerheads with each other for the
last couple of months, as the minister has
been stopped from achieving the targeted
goals, it has emerged.
Moreover, the secretary was also interfering in each development move made by
the minister by citing one or another reason
for the delay in work.
Meanwhile, the department’s files were

lying pending on the bureaucrat’s table from
a long time, and the minister and the directorate of the women development department had to send multiple reminders to the
officials concerned to process the official
files and summaries, well-placed sources
told Pakistan Today.
Interestingly, the secretary’s rude attitude was also witnessed by dozens of media
persons on December 21, 2012, when the department of women development was celebrating the International Women Day in
collaboration with the media and the representatives of non-governmental organisations (NGOs).
However, the minister and all the participants got shocked when the secretary
named Rashid Ali was called to the stage to
give a speech. After the announcement, the
minister and the participants were annoyed

to find out that the secretary did not bother
to attend the very important event just because he had developed differences with the
minister.
In a recent case, the directorate of
women development department had forwarded
a
letter
No
PD/BBSYDP/DWD/2012-13 to the secretary reminding him to approve the pending
files so that the expenditures of Benazir
Bhutto Shaheed Youth Development Program phase-II and III could be closed and
which stood at Rs 100 million.
“Reference to the subject cited it is to
state that the file No PD/BBSYDP/DWDPub: &Adver/2012-13 and file No PD/BBSYDP/OM2012-13 were sent to your good
office dated December 11, 2012 for approval
of payment of stipends to trainees and training cost to the Primus Institute for Office

Management Skill Programme under BBSYDP-DWD, but the same is still awaited
and not yet approved for onward payment”,
according to a letter available with Pakistan
Today.
“In this connection, it is highlighted before the worthy secretary that the training of
Office Management Skill Program has already been closed on May 20, 2012 and payments of those head of accounts have
already suffered a lot due to frequent change
of secretaries (WDD) and Project DirectorBBSYDP. It is therefore requested that the
expenditure may kindly be sanctioned and
approval be solicited to expedite the closing
of the II and III phase”, the letter further
added.
“I don’t know why the secretary of my
department is running the department with
such arrogance. He gives no response to the

The National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA)
has increased the tariff of Karachi Electric Supply Company
(KESC). Sources in Nepra said the increase had been made
on account of fuel adjustment charges as Rs 0.46 per unit
of power will be charged for the month of October and an
increase of Rs 0.20 per unit will be applied for November.
However, lifeline consumers will be exempted from the rise
in electricity prices. The rise in prices of electricity will be
implemented after the decision of Islamabad High Court.

The National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has
successfully implemented Integrated Border Management System (IBMS) at Khokarapar
border and the first rail link has
become operational with this system.
A Nadra spokesperson in a
statement issued on Tuesday said
the system was designed and tailored specifically as per immigration laws of Pakistan, which
helped prevent illegal entry, use
of counterfeit documents and

human smuggling.
The IBMS is now operational
at Khokarapar for the management of passengers of all entries/exists through this station
and till date around 800 passengers have been processed through
the system, she added.
She said Nadra is partner for
the implementation of IBMS for
FIA to replace the existing
PISCES system at all the
entry/exist points in Pakistan including airports, railway stations
and land routes. Moreover, it is
pertinent to mention that IBMS is
already operational on all major
international airports including

Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta and at Torkham,
a land route to Afghanistan.
Highlighting IBMS features,
she said it had been designed to
document and store the entire
process starting from visa issuance till departure and arrivals
from the country thus preventing
illegal human trafficking as well
as illegal immigrants to flee from
the country.
The
IBMS
has
been
equipped with the latest technologies like advance fingerprint matching, specialised
handling for different categories
of travelers, she added.

Flairs sets the ramp ablaze at feathers, forum
KaraCHI: Flairs, an up and
coming prêt fashion brand, uses
themes inspired from Egyptian,
Roman, Abstract and Islamic architecture to develop digitally executed intricate prints and
designs on luxuriant fabric, creating not just apparel, but an experience.
Flairs started retailing at
local multi designer stores in
2009 and has worked with the
likes of Manish Malhotra at international forums such as stores in
Dubai, Newyork City etc. The
brand is currently ready for
launch in 3 cities in India in the
near future. “Unlike common industry practice, the fabric is not
picked off a shelf to consequently
decide what kind of a dress could
be crafted out of it. Flaires prides
itself for designing and creating
the fabric itself, so it is unique
and gives the wearer the feel of
owning an artifact” says Syed
Anzer Hussain, Chief Visionary
Officer, Flairs.
The edge Flaires offers is not

KARACHI
After a long delay of nine years, a
trade firm, which had supplied
technical books to the Sindh Education Department in 2003, received the first installment of its
pending dues of over Rs 3.2 million on Tuesday.
The payment was released to
the company on the intervention
of the ombudsman of Sindh
province Asad Ashraf Malik, who
on Tuesday handed Rs 0.443 million as a first tranche to the book
suppliers against its claim stuck
with the provincial government
for many years.

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

new year starts with
3-day CnG closure
KaraCHI: The new year sun rises amid
three-day CNG closure across Sindh multiplying the miseries of commuters and
motorists in the province. According to
Sui Southern Gas Company (SSGC) announcement regarding schedule for closure of CNG stations, all the filling
stations in Sindh were closed from 08:00
am on Tuesday till 08:00 am on Friday for
72 hours. The SSGC officials were of the
view that the step had been taken to meet
the growing gas demand for domestic
consumers during winter. It was crucial to
suspend CNG supply to the filling stations, they added. The Sui gas authorities
said the gas utility took this step to improve the line pack position across the
province, which was badly disturbed due
to short supply of gas from different gas
fields causing depletion of line pack and
low pressure in the system. inp

Sharmila felicitates
club body
KaraCHI: Special Assistant to Sindh
Chief Minister on Media and Auqaf,
Sharmila Faruqui congratulated the
newly-elected office-bearers of the
Karachi Press Club. In a statement issued here on Tuesday, while congratulating KPC president Imtiaz Faran, Vice
President Saeed Sarbzi, Secretary Aamir
Latif and others she hoped that newly office – bearers would continue their efforts for the betterment of their
community and strengthening democratic institutions. She added, ‘Democracy and journalism go together and
government firmly believes in freedom
of expression.’ She assured them of her
full cooperation. nni

just in terms of the design, but
the printing technique which
gives the possessor a feel of
knowing the secret ingredient to
a famed recipe. In a time where

life is on the go and individuality
is compromised for the sake of
conformity, Flairs’ is not off the
shelf, but a vision carefully
thought out for select taste.

Education dept pays book suppliers after 9 years, thanks to Ombudsman
sTaff REpoRT

decision made in the high-powered meetings and does not take interest in proposals
that will ensure smooth running of department tasks”, Tauqir Fatima told Pakistan
Today.
The minister said that the secretary had
also made illegal appointments in the department and he got angry when objections
were raised, adding that the officer was arbitrarily delaying the official files of much
important for reasons best known to him.
“The secretary used to attend the meeting, however, he never issues minutes of the
meeting or comply with the decision taken
in the meeting that shows that the secretary
is working on instructions coming from
other place,” Tauqir Fatima added.
Pakistan Today repeatedly tried to seek
secretary Rashid’s version, however, his cell
phone remained switched off.

According to details, M/s
Naina Exporters and Importers
had supplied technical books to
different colleges as per agreement with the provincial education department in 2003.
The total payment of books
supplied by the company was Rs
3.279 million. However, the payment was denied to the company
by the department while the
provincial government cited different reasons for the delay.
The company ultimately filed
a complaint with the provincial
ombudsman regarding the nonpayment of dues by the department concerned.
After proper investigation the

Sindh province ombudsman directed the department to arrange
payment to the company who
were deprived of their legitimate
claim by the Sindh Technical Education and Vocational Training
Authority (Stevta) in pursuance
of the ombudsman’s directive assured the company of arranging
payments from colleges who had
received the books.
As a result, the first installment was paid to Kishore Kardaswani, a representative of the
company, by the Sindh ombudsman in his office here on Tuesday. The company would receive
the remaining dues in due course
of time.

Governance for quality
teachers discussed
KARACHI
nni

Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) in
collaboration with the Agha Khan University – Institute for Education Development (AKU-IED) conducted a 2nd
Educational Dialogue titled ‘Governance
for Quality Teachers’ at a local hotel, in
an effort to analyse developments in the
field of education and to encourage open
communication and constructive debate
among stakeholders. Over 120 people
that included major stakeholders belonging to the field of academics, practitioners working in the field of education and
representatives from the government
and media personnel attended the event.
Education experts and members of academia gathered together to discuss
measures which could be promoted in
the field of education and to collectively
arrive at some core recommendations
and observations (specifically in regards
to teachers) that can be forwarded to the
relevant policy makers as a roadmap.

The several plans made by the authorities to
re-settle thousands of flood affectees have clearly
failed, as the Sindh government has failed to ensure the implementation of even a single plan,
thus rendering people homeless.
In 2010, the Sindh government had announced to construct houses in six cities of the
province, particularly in Karachi, to arrange settlements for around 0.435 million flood affected
families of Sindh, currently rendered homeless
due to unprecedented floods. Besides, many
plans by the provincial government in this regard, but all those plans have miserably failed as
no work could be carried out despite a passage
of two years, sources told Pakistan Today.
According to details, the Planning and Development Department prepared a comprehensive
plan to ensure the re-settlement of 2010 flood effected families in Karachi, Hyderabad, Sukkur,
Larkana, Shaheed Benzirabad and Jamshoro
cities/districts. For the first phase of the plan an
amount of Rs. 2 billion were also allocated. However, the project could not take off at all, and as
a result about 7 million flood affected people, uprooted from their own houses, were still running
from pillar to post to get shelter. They were still
camped out under the sky and hoping to receive
help from the rulers in view of the promises
made to them by their elected representatives,
the sources added.
Ironically, as many as 18,400 acres land was
earmarked for the construction of these houses
in six big cities of the province as mentioned
above. The details of city-wise break-up of the
earmarked land were as follows:
Karachi City: 9,000 acres in the order of

2,000 acres near Ghaghar Pahttak Deh Ghaghar,
Dhabeji, 200 acres in Memon Goth near Razzakabad,400 acres in Cattle Colony, 400 acres on
super high wayGadap Road Deh Ibrahium Hyderi
and Deh Ghanghiro, 2,000 acres in Deh Allahphihai (near northern by-e-pass), 1,000 acres in
Rcd/Northern by-e-pass Deh Mehio, 2,000 acres
near toll plaza, 1,000 acres in Kemari Town.
District Jamshoro: 400 acres in Deh Boro
Jabal (from Luhms to Sehwan Road), 1,000
acres near Nooriabad Industrial Area, 2,000
acres in Command Area of Darawat Dam District
Hyderabad, 2,000 acres near Ganjo taker Zeal
Pak (Airport-tm Khan Road) Hyderabad.
District Nawabshah: 1,000 acres on Airport
Road/Taluka Nawabshah Shaheed Benazirabad.
District Sukkur: 1,000 acres on Airport
Shikarpur Road Sukkur.
District Larkana: 1,000 acres in Deh Areja,
Taluka Bakrani in Larkana and 1,000 acres near
DHA Karachi city.
The plan had also envisaged to settle 2,
25000 flood affectees in nine different areas of
Karachi division, 85,000 at three different places
in Jamshoro city/Ditrict, 50,000 affectees in Hyderabad district. In addition as per the formula
prepared by the government planners, 25,000
families each were to be settled in Karachi,
Sukkur, Shaheed Benazirabad and Larkana districts. But, nothing so far had been initiated to
meet these targets as no requisite funds for the
said project could be released. The sad aspect of
this episode was the fact that instead of providing shelter to the flood affected people, as promised, the funds allocated for this project were
diverted towards other projects.
The apathy and indifference of the state institutions was particularly exposed on the eve of
launching rescue and relief work to help the

in, At And ARound - visuAl expeRiences of memoRy And tRAvel

dATe: JAn 10 - 17, 2013

flood displaced people of Sindh. The inhuman
conduct of government officials with these flood
affectees were witnessed, when as per the promises of the provincial government as many as 7
million displaced persons, belonging to different
far flung areas of the province, traveled and got
temporarily settled in open areas at various
places in the above mentioned six cities. They
did so with the knowledge that the chief minister
and ministers had promised to provide them
shelter as well as food essentials. But unfortunately, those promises were never fulfilled. Similar was the conduct of the government with
regard to their promises to rehabilitate the damaged public infrastructure in the affected areas
like schools buildings, dispensaries, and roads.
According to estimates, 2,500 schools all
over Sindh were damaged or destroyed in 2010
floods. Most of the infrastructure facilities had
so far not been restored even after the passage of
two years. Some non-governmental organisations (NGOs), with the support of foreign
donors, had restored a few of these infrastructure systems in certain districts. However, a majority of public buildings were still in need of
restoration.
“MaterIaL Cost oF one House”: As
per government estimates, the cost of the material required for constructing one house was
around Rs 1, 28541. The details of the cost of different items of the required materials as officially provided were as follows: Rs 12,199 for a
single roof, Rs 19,479 required for procurement
of cement, Rs 23,056 for bricks, Rs 10,349 for
sand, Rs 9,775 for doors and windows, Rs 3,902
for girders, Rs 4,781 for bamboo to be used in
roof making, Rs 31,000 for labour force, Rs
4,000 for hand pumps, and Rs10, 000 on miscellaneous expenditure.

picAsso in pAKistAn

dATe: deC 24, 2012 To FeB 02, 2013

emAc - pARAgliding in KARAcHi

dATe: deC 21, 2012 To JAn 06, 2013

VenUe: UnICoRn GAlleRy KARAChI

VenUe: GAndhARA ART SPACe

VenUe: MUBARAK VIllAGe KARAChI,

´In, At and Around´ an exhibition of Urban landscapes by
Pakistani Artist, Soraya Sikander on 10 till 17 January 2013 at
Unicorn Gallery, Karachi, creates awareness about eco-diversity,
deforstation and rapid urbanisation. The exhibition features
seventeen exclusive paintings created on-site around areas in
london and Karachi. The artist traveled around london and Trill
during her time at Slade School of Fine Art, where she produced
these sensitive works as a response to a changing world.

“Abstract art is only painting. And what’s so dramatic about
that? There is no abstract art. one must always begin with
something. Afterwards one can remove all semblance of reality;
there is no longer any danger as the idea of the object has left
an indelible imprint. It is the object which aroused the artist,
stimulated his ideas and set of his emotions. Boisgeloup,
winter 1934, Quoted in letters of the great artists – from Blake
to Pollock -, Richard Friedenthal, Thames and hudson, london,
1963, pp. 256-257 (translation daphne woodward)

1) Fill and submit the online registration form
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wednesday, 2 January, 2013

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:25 AM Page 8

08 News

North Korean leader seeks end
to confrontation with south
PYONGYANG

N

aGEnCiEs

ORTH Korean leader
Kim Jong-un called for
an end to confrontation
between the two Koreas, technically still at
war in the absence of a peace treaty
to end their 1950-53 conflict, in a
surprise New Year speech broadcast
on state media.
The address by Kim, who took
over power in the reclusive state
after his father, Kim Jong-il, died in
2011, appeared to take the place of
the policy-setting New Year editorial
published in leading state newspapers.
But North Korea has offered olive
branches before and Kim’s speech
does not necessarily signify a change
in tack from a country which vilifies
the United States and U.S. ally South
Korea at every chance it gets.
Impoverished North Korea raised
tensions in the region by launching a
long-range rocket in December that
it said was aimed at putting a scientific satellite in orbit, drawing international condemnation.
North Korea, which considers
North and South as one country, the
Democratic People’s Republic of
Korea, is banned from testing missile
or nuclear technology under U.N.

sanctions imposed after its 2006 and
2009 nuclear weapons tests.
“An important issue in putting
an end to the division of the
country and achieving its reunification is to remove confrontation between the north and the
south,” Kim said in the address
that appeared to be pre-recorded
and was made at an undisclosed
location.
“The past records of inter-Korean relations show that confrontation between fellow countrymen
leads to nothing but war.”
The New Year address was the
first in 19 years by a North Korean
leader after the death of Kim Ilsung, Kim Jong-un’s grandfather.
Kim Jong-il rarely spoke in public
and disclosed his national policy
agenda in editorials in state newspapers.
“(Kim’s statement) apparently
contains a message that he has an intention to dispel the current face-off
(between the two Koreas), which
could eventually be linked with the
North’s call for aid (from the
South),” said Kim Tae-woo, a North
Korea expert at the state-funded
Korea Institute for National Unification.
“But such a move does not necessarily mean any substantive change
in the North Korean regime’s policy

towards the South.”
The two Koreas have seen tensions rise to the highest level
in decades after the North
bombed a Southern island in
2010 killing two civilians and two soldiers.
The sinking of a
South Korean navy
ship earlier that year
was blamed on the
North but Pyongyang
has denied it and accused
Seoul of waging a smear
campaign against its leadership.
Last month, South
Korea elected as president Park Geun-hye, a
conservative daughter of

height of their Cold War confrontation.
Park has vowed to pursue engagement with the North and called
for dialogue to build confidence but
has demanded that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons ambitions,
something it is unlikely to do.
Conspicuously absent from Kim’s
speech was any mention of the nuclear arms program.

a s sassinated
military
ruler
Park
Chung-hee
whom Kim Ilsung had tried
to kill at the

aBIDJan: About 60 people were crushed
to death in Ivory Coast’s main city of
Abidjan overnight after a New Year’s Eve
fireworks display, an emergency official and
state radio said on Tuesday. “There are
around 60 dead, and about 200 injured, this
is a provisional estimate,” a rescue official
told Reuters, asking not to be named. He
said the incident happened near Felix
Houphouet Boigny Stadium where a crowd
had gathered to watch fireworks. A Reuters
correspondent said there were blood stains
and abandoned shoes outside the stadium
Tuesday morning, and government officials
and rescue and security forces were still
there. “My two children came here
yesterday. I told them not to come but they
didn’t listen. They came when I was
sleeping. What will I do?” said Assetou
Toure, a cleaner. She said she did not know
if her children survived. aGEnCiEs

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Hong Kong: Thousands in Hong Kong
protested on Tuesday against the city’s leader
Leung Chun-ying as pressure mounts against
the Beijing-backed politician who has been
embroiled in an illegal construction scandal
since taking office in July. Thronging the
streets on New Year’s Day, crowds of people,
some dressed in black with colorful banners
and wearing long-nosed Pinocchio masks,
chanted “Leung Chun-ying step down” in a
rally that snaked several kilometers towards
government headquarters. While Hong Kong
is a largely stable financial hub with a strong
rule of law, the political heat has risen over
Leung’s failure to adequately explain
seemingly innocuous building work on his
home, corroding public trust and raising
suspicions he may have covered up the
scandal last year as he campaigned for the
leadership. “CY Leung does not have the
ability and credibility to handle even his own
personal scandals. How can he lead Hong
Kong in a proper way with political and
economic development?” said protest
organizer Jackie Hung. Leung said last month
he had been negligent and apologized for how
he handled questions over his illegally built
basement. Such work is common to maximize
living space in space-starved Hong Kong, but
similar minor violations have ensnared
several prominent officials over the past year.
By late afternoon, organizers put the turnout
at the protest at around 60,000, though
police said 17,000 had showed up. aGEnCiEs

Expats who bounce
cheques no longer
risk prison in UAE

MisRaTa: people inspect the destroyed side room of a Coptic church following an explosion on Dec 31, in the Mediterranean town of Dafinya.Two Egyptians were killed
in the attack on the stone church built between 1936 and 1937 during italian colonial rule. aGENCIES

About 60 crushed to
death in Ivory Coast
stadium stampede

Thousands march
against Hong
Kong’s leader

DuBaI: The United Arab Emirates will stop
imprisoning expatriates for writing cheques
that bounce, Abu Dhabi daily The National
reported on Tuesday, citing a senior official.
The UAE’s tough penalties for defaulting on
loans, which is a criminal offence in the Gulf
Arab monarchy, were relaxed for Emirati
citizens in October after a royal decree. “In line
with the directives of Sheikh Khalifa... and in
the spirit of fairness and equality, the courts
have stopped as of last month accepting
collateral cheques presented as a criminal tool
against expatriate debt defaulters,” Ali Khalfan
Al Dhaheri, head of the legal affairs
department at the Ministry of Presidential
Affairs was quoted saying. In July a British
businessman who had been jailed for nearly
three years in Dubai for writing bad cheques
was released when his conviction was
overturned following a seven-week hunger
strike. The UAE has no bankruptcy laws to
protect debtors and many have called for the
decriminalisation of bounced cheques.
“Federal public prosecutions in the country
have, indeed, released expatriate detainees as
has been the case of their Emirati counterparts
who were freed last October,” The National
quoted judge Jassem Saif Buossaiba, head of
the judicial inspection department at the
Justice Ministry, as saying. aGEnCiEs

Syria starts 2013 with aerial strikes and clashes
DAMASCUS
aGEnCiEs

Syrians woke on New Year’s Day to countrywide aerial bombardment, while President Bashar al-Assad’s forces and rebels
fighting to topple him clashed on the outskirts of the capital.
Residents of Damascus entered the
new year to the sound of artillery hitting
southern and eastern districts that form a
rebel-held crescent on the outskirts of the
capital, the center of which is still firmly
under government control. In the center,
soldiers manning checkpoints fired celebratory gunfire at midnight, causing alarm
in a city where streets were largely deserted. “How can they celebrate? There is
no ‘Happy New Year’,” Moaz al-Shami, an
opposition activists who lives in the capital’s central Mezzeh district, said over
Skype, his voice trembling with anger.
He said rebel fighters attacked one
checkpoint in the district of Berzeh early
on Tuesday. Opposition groups said mor-

tar bombs hit the southwest suburb of
Daraya, where the army launched a military offensive on Monday to retake the
battered district. Assad’s air force pounded
Damascus’s eastern suburbs, as well as
rebel-held areas in the second city Aleppo,
and several rural towns and villages, opposition activists said.
An estimated 45,000 people have
been killed in the revolt, which started in
early 2011 with peaceful protests demanding democratic reforms but turned into an
armed uprising after months of attacks on
protesters by security forces. A resident of
the central city of Homs, who asked to remain anonymous, said shells had landed
on the Old City early on Tuesday.
Homs lies on the strategic north-south
highway and parts of the ancient city have
been leveled during months of clashes.
Government forces ousted rebels from the
city early last year but militants have
slowly crept back in. “The Old City is under
siege. There is shelling from all sides,” he
said. The opposition-linked Syrian Obser-

vatory for Human Rights, a British-based
monitoring group, reported 160 people
killed on the final day of 2012, including at
least 37 government troops. The group’s
reports cannot be verified.
BoMBarDMent
The civil war in Syria has become the
longest and deadliest of the conflicts that
rose out of the uprisings that swept
through the Arab world over the past two
years. Many Sunni Muslims, the majority
in Syria, back the rebellion, while Assad,
who hails from the Shi’ite-derived Alawite
minority sect, is backed by some minorities who fear revenge if he falls. His family
has ruled Syria harshly since his father
seized power in a coup 42 years ago.
Assad’s forces have lately relied more
on aerial and artillery bombardment,
rather than infantry. Residential areas
where rebels base themselves have been
targeted, killing civilians unable to flee.
Schools and queues of people buying

bread have been hit.Rebels have taken
swathes of the north and the east but have
struggled to hold cities, complaining that
they are defenseless against Assad’s Soviet-built air force. A year ago, many diplomats and analysts predicted Assad would
leave power in 2012. But he has proved resilient and none of his inner circle have defected. He still largely retains control of his
armed forces. Diplomatic efforts to end the
war have faltered, with the rebels refusing
to negotiate unless Assad leaves power
and him pledging to fight until death.
Most Western and Arab states have
called for him to leave power. He is supported by Russia and Shi’ite Iran. In the
final days of 2012, international mediator
Lakhdar Brahimi called on countries to
push the sides to talk, saying Syria faced a
choice of “hell or the political process”.
One Damascus resident, who asked
not to be identified for security reasons, said the usual new year’s eve
crowds were absent from the increasingly isolated capital.

HE National Assembly Special Committee on Foreign Loans has recommended that the details of the
negotiations with donor agencies regarding loans worth more than Rs 500
million should be presented before parliament for
consideration.
The decision was made during a meeting of the
special committee held in the parliament house
and was presided over by Ms Shehnaz Wazir Ali.
During the meeting, legislators said the parliament was not taken into confidence during negotiations with foreign donor agencies and the terms
and conditions were finalised without the approval of the body. Ahsan Iqbal said the ministries
should hire the services of special advisors for a
better assessment of foreign loans.
“Our ministries do not have qualified people to
deal with issues regarding negotiations with donor
agencies therefore the post of an advisor should be
made. This advisor will assist our government and
will be helpful to remove flaws in our financial
system,” Ahsan added. Resenting the planning
commission’s failure to present its independent

QUETTA: A boy holds
an icicle as the
temperature further
decreased in the
provincial capital on
Tuesday. INP

SC takes suo motu notice of Shahzeb’s murder
g

hundreds of people protest at Karachi Press Club
ISLAMABAD
onLinE

The Supreme Court on Tuesday took suo motu notice of Shahzeb Khan’s murder and issued notice to
the Sindh advocate general and PPO to appear on
January 4 and submit a report in this regard.
Twenty-year-old Shahzeb Khan was killed allegedly by Shahrukh Jatoi near Mubarak Masjid in
DHA Karachi on December 25.
Jatoi killed Khan after his friend Nawab Siraj

Talpur had an argument with the deceased, when
Talpur’s servant verbally harassed Khan’s sister.
Talpur and his friend, Jatoi, allegedly followed
Shahzeb, even after the issue was settled, and shot
him dead. Reportedly, the two main suspects escaped to interior Sindh after the murder.
The action was taken by Chief Justice Iftikhar
Chaudhry on a note initiated by the office. The note
was based on press clippings carrying story regarding the brutal murder of the 20-year-old who was
gunned down in Karachi a week ago and police

failed to make any progress due to immense political pressure.
Hundreds of people from different walks of life
protested against the murder at the Karachi Press
Club carrying banners and requesting the CJP for
taking suo motu action in this regard.
A three-member investigation committee was
formed by the Sindh Police but so far, the body has
not made any arrests. The investigation teams that
were sent to the interior Sindh also came back
“empty-handed”.

Top Afghan negotiator optimistic over peace prospects
KABUL
aGEnCiEs

A top Afghan peace negotiator said he
was cautiously optimistic about
prospects for reconciliation with the
Taliban and that all sides now realized
a military solution to the war was not
possible.
Mohammad Masoom Stanekzai
also told Reuters that the Kabul government hoped to transform the Afghan
Taliban, who have proved resilient after
more than a decade of war against U.S.led NATO and Afghan troops, into a political movement.
He predicted the highly lethal
Haqqani militant network, the most experienced at guerrilla warfare, would
join the peace process if the Afghan Taliban started formal talks. Signs are
emerging that the Afghan government
is gaining momentum in its drive to persuade the Taliban to lay down their
arms before most NATO combat troops
pull out by the end of 2014, a timeline
that makes many Afghans nervous.
Members of the Afghan government, the Taliban and some of their old
enemies in the Northern Alliance, which
fought the Taliban for years, discussed
ways of easing the conflict during a recent meeting in France.
“I think one consensus was that
everybody acknowledged that nobody
will win by military (means),” said
Stanekzai, who was badly wounded in a
2011 Taliban suicide bombing attack.
“Everybody acknowledged that we have
to enter into a meaningful negotiation.”Pakistan, long accused of supporting Afghan insurgents such as the
Taliban, has sent the strongest signals
yet that it will deliver on promises of
helping the Kabul government and the

United States bring stability to its neighbor. Pakistan is seen as critical to the
process after three decades of upheaval
in Afghanistan.
Ten years of Soviet occupation were
followed by devastating civil war and
the rise of the Taliban, who ruled from
1996 to 2001. On Monday, Pakistan
freed four Afghan Taliban prisoners
who Afghan officials said were close to
the group’s reclusive leader, Mullah
Mohammed Omar, and still had the
clout to persuade commanders to pursue peace.
“eVerYBoDY sHouLD BeneFIt”
Stanekzai stressed that in order to bring
long-term stability, reconciliation efforts should aim to bring the Taliban
and other insurgents into Afghan politics.
“The purpose of the peace process
is we want all Afghans to be part of the
political system,” said Stanekzai, who
studied at Cambridge and was in charge
of disarmament in Afghanistan before
becoming a senior member of the High
Peace Council. “This peace process
should not just be a deal between a few
people or between the government and
the Taliban, but everybody should benefit from the peace process, and everybody should see a peaceful prospect for
themselves for the future.” Some activists fear that the government will
make concessions in order to pacify the
Taliban that could hurt efforts to improve women’s rights.
Stanekzai said Afghan security
forces had made progress but acknowledged that more work was needed to
ensure they would be ready to take over
when the U.S. combat mission ends in
2014. He also believes a free and fair
presidential election in April 2014 are

evaluation report over foreign and domestic loans,
the committee directed the officials of the planning commission to inform Planning Commission
Deputy Chairman Dr Nadeemul Haq to give a written report in ten days regarding the matter.
“Hundreds of people have been hired in departments which are already facing financial constraints,” the committee added.
Officials informed the committee that during
the last four years the average fiscal deficit remained 6.12 percent and defence and debt services
were a major cause of it.
Ahsan Iqbal said unrealistic figures were
shown when the budget was being made.
“This is why we face such immense difficulties,” he said.
The committee asked the officials of the planning commission and the finance division to give
details of the amount of money which lapsed back
to the national treasury during past few years and
give reasons why this amount was not utilized.
The legislative body said loans should be scrutinized before being granted. The standing committee also asked the officials to give complete
details of the Fiscal Responsibility and Debt Limitation Act (FRDLA) 2005 and advise the committee how this act can be amended.

KP restores
commissionerate
system
pesHawar: The commissionerate system has been
restored in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Malakand Division
and Provincially Administered Tribal Areas (PATA)
repealing the Local Government System 2001 enforced
by former president Pervez Musharraf. In view of this
development, the serving deputy coordination office
(DCO) would become deputy commissioner. According
to official sources, deputy commissioners will take over
the charge of their offices from today in 25 districts of the
province. Also, assistant commissioners and additional
assistant commissioners will also work under the new
system. Commissioners are already working in different
divisions of the province. The provincial government,
during the last week of December, promulgated Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa Local Government Act 2012 with effect
from January 1, 2013. The provincial assembly on May 8,
2012, passed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Local
Government Act 2012 to revive local bodies system that
was prevalent in the country before the government of
Gen (r) Pervez Musharraf with minor changes. onLinE

Measles claimed 306
lives in Pakistan: WHO

essential to prevent any further conflict.
The last vote was plagued by allegations
of widespread fraud. “This is the time
where we have to enter in negotiations
to make sure that does not happen. But,
as you know, politicians are always
politicians. They are always in a power
game.”
Stanekzai warned that reconciliation was complex, with many moving
parts having to be synchronized. The
Haqqanis, who are close to al Qaeda and
have been blamed for a number of highprofile attacks on Western and Afghan
targets in Kabul, are regarded as a possible spoiler. But Stanekzai did not seem
too concerned about the group.
“When you go to a market you always use a brand name and then you
sell your very low-quality product under
that brand name,” he said. “We enter a
negotiation with the Taliban which is
the brand marketable name. The rest is
easy.” Asked if he thought there would
be a major breakthrough in peace efforts this year, Stanekzai said conditions

had been established to make that possible. But he noted that Afghanistan was
highly unpredictable. “Anything can
happen. You don’t know which direction these different actors will take,” he
said.
staneKzaI Knows tHat FIrst
HanD.
He recalled how a man posing as a Taliban peace envoy kissed the hand of exAfghan president and chairman of the
High Peace Council Burhanuddin Rabbani before detonating a bomb hidden
in his turban.
Rabbani was killed instantly and
Stanekzai was badly wounded. Faith in
Islam has helped him recover. “The suicide bomber was between the both of us
and when he lowered his head, I remember there was a light and a bang
and that was the last thing I remember.
Next thing I remember was I was in the
hospital,” said Stanekzai, sitting near
his cane. “It’s life,” he said. “In Islam, in
our religion, it says even if you are in the
middle of fire, Allah can save you.”

KaraCHI: World Health Organisation (WHO) on
Tuesday said 306 children died in Pakistan due to
measles in 2012. Although the WHO spokesperson,
Maryam Yunus, did not give a reason for the increase in
deaths, a provincial health official said the disease hit
areas where parents could not afford vaccination for
their children. Yunus said in southern Sindh, where
measles caused the death of 28 children in 2011, 206
children had died this year. Sindh Health Minister
Saghir Ahmed said around 100 children had died in
Sindh in December alone. onLinE

Retrieve schools from
influential grabbers: SC
IsLaMaBaD: The Supreme Court has ordered Sindh
and Balochistan governments to retrieve school
buildings from influential grabbers and submit
comprehensive reports in this regard. A three-member
bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar
Chaudhry, heard the proceedings of a suo motu case
regarding a lack of schools. The SC ordered the
provincial governments to ensure that school buildings
should only be used for educational purposes. Earlier in
its orders, the SC asked about ghost schools in all the
provinces and measures taken so far in this regard. The
SC ordered all provincial and federal governments to
submit comprehensive reports and adjourned the
hearing for three weeks. onLinE

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:25 AM Page 10

10 Comment
dynastic leaders and democracy
Dedicated to the legacy of the late Hameed Nizami

peculations regarding the postponement of elections became
rife after Tahir-ul-Qadri’s address to a mammoth gathering
in Lahore on December 23. At a time when elections were
due in about four months, the TMQ chief demanded wide
ranging reforms in the economic, social and electoral system. What
is more, he gave deadlines to the government to fulfil his demands.
Three weeks deadline till January 14 for announcing an independent
interim setup to be formed in consultation with the army, judiciary
and other stakeholders. In case this did not happen, Qadri is to march
on Islamabad “at the head of four million people on January 10”.
Three months for changing the entire system! If this could not be done
within the stipulated period, elections would have to be postponed.
With MQM and PML-Q, two major partners in the ruling coalition,
now supporting the demands, this has further added to uncertainty.
Meanwhile, statements by the top PMLN, ANP and Jamaat-eIslami leadership on the New Year eve warn of dire consequences if
the elections were postponed. Asfandyar Wali called any delay was
disastrous for the country. Going a step further, JI’s deputy chief
Siraj-ul-Haq said that a second Bangladesh model would come into
being if the general elections were postponed. Last week, Imran
Khan had maintained that a delay would jeopardise Pakistan’s
stability. On Sunday, Federal Information Minister Qamar Zaman
Kaira asked the MQM not to become part of a conspiracy to delay
elections and derail democracy in the country. Meanwhile, the
government allies have reportedly asked it to immediately announce
the schedule of elections to take the wind out of Tahir-ul-Qadri’s sails.
Under Article 232(6) of the Constitution, the term of the
National Assembly can be extended only in case the president
proclaims a state of emergency in situations like war, foreign
aggression and internal strife. Pakistan faces threats from the
extremists, of this there is no doubt. But if Iran could hold elections
in the midst of its war with Iraq, Pakistan too can do the same.
Postponement on any pretext would be a serious setback to the
democratic process as it would constitute an acknowledgement that
the democratic system was unable to address the challenges facing
the country. Proclamation of emergency by the president would be
an expression of no confidence in the PPP-led government. If the
government really finds itself unable to cope with the challenges, the
best way is to urgently hold the elections to let the next government
bail the country out of its difficulties. The government has
unnecessarily delayed an agreement with the opposition on the
interim setup. The talks should be concluded urgently. Meanwhile,
the government would do well to announce the election schedule.

not as much of a bad idea as it sounds

T

he death anniversary of Benazir
Bhutto on 27 December has become the annual day for the
Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) to
demonstrate its country-wide
popular support. It has also become an occasion when the party leadership has the
biggest presence at one spot. The latest
death anniversary was another impressive
display of popular outpouring for Benazir
Bhutto and the PPP. What distinguished
this from the previous occasions was the
formal launching of Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
into active public life. This was the induction of the third generation of the Bhutto
family into the PPP’s active leadership role.
Bilawal Bhutto addressed the public
meeting in a high tone and emotionally
charged manner in the tradition of his
mother, Benazir Bhutto, and grandfather,
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. He invoked the PPP’s
traditional political philosophy of “rotti,
kapra aur makan” and the legacy of its
elders. He spoke about some political issues in general terms but his style captivated his audience who wanted to hear
him no matter what he said.
Bilawal Bhutto’s advent as the leader of
the PPP and active
involveBy Dr Hasan Askari Rizvi
ment in election
campaign would
improve internal harmony in
the party and
moderate the
dissenting elements. This will
also create an
opportunity for
President Asif
Ali Zardari to
disengage himself from dayto-day affairs of
the PPP and
stay out of election campaigning, defusing
the
ongoing
criticism of his
active role in
PPP affairs.
The advent
of
Bilawal
Bhutto is the
latest example
of dynastic politics that characterises
this
region. In Sri
Lanka,
the
Senanyakes and

the Bandaranaikes dominated the politics of
the United National Party and the Sri Lanka
Freedom Party respectively for years and
held the offices of prime minister and president. In Nepal, the Koiralas held the office
of prime minister on several occasions. In
Bangladesh, the wife of former President
Ziaur Rahman and the daughter of Sheikh
Mujibur Rahman dominate politics. In
India, three generations of the Nehru family
held the office of prime minister. This legacy
continues as the dominant feature of the
politics of the Congress Party. All these
countries have several other politically active families where political leadership
passes on from generation to generation.
Pakistan is currently experiencing generational transition. The daughter of Nawaz
Sharif, Mariam Nawaz, was launched into
active politics last year. She devotes her
time to the PML-N secretariat, women and
youth affairs. Her husband is a member of
the National Assembly. Shahbaz Sharif’s
son, Hamza Shahbaz, is also involved in active politics for many years. The same can
be said about Monis Elahi, son of Chaudhry
Pervaiz Elahi. However, both, Hamza and
Monis, are involved in day-to-day politics,
hindering or helping the tasks of others.
This has made their role controversial. The
two sons of former Prime Minister, Yousaf
Raza Gilani, are in active politics and have
caused many controversies in their short
span in active politics. We can talk of several other political families in Pakistan.
Political dynasties can be found in established democracies where some families
dominate the politics in some regions and
political and elected offices pass on from
one to another generation.
Political dynasties are more common in
semi-traditional or transitional societies
where the institution of family, clan or tribe
continues to be important. The attachment
to the important families passes on through
generations. This is the interplay of charisma
that evokes loyalty of the people who firmly
believe that certain families have extraordinary qualities of leading the community.
We talk of political dynasties that succeed and forget that many sons and daughters or wives of important political leaders
do not succeed. If Sonia Gandhi carries on
with the traditions of the Nehrus and the
Gandhis in India, her sister-in-law, Manika,
wife of Sanjay Gandhi (brother of Ravi
Gandhi) could not go beyond the membership of the Lok Sabha and a junior cabinet
position. She has been pushed to the background. Similarly, all children of an established leader do not reach to the top.
The political family name helps the first
entry in politics. It is like the son of an estab-

lished lawyer or doctor who has the advantage at the time of entry into the profession.
The father’s professional standing helps in the
initial days. However, the initial advantage
has to be reinforced by individual efforts and
demonstration of professional excellence.
The same happens in the political domain.
A strong family background facilitates entry
into politics with a clear advantage. However,
the family tree does not ensure success
throughout the career. Such an entrant cannot
reach to the top without establishing his/her
credentials as a leader in his/her own right.
The dynastic leadership sustains itself
by two principal methods. First, the leadership must be confirmed again and again
by winning elections. Popular mandate
helps to strengthen leadership. Second, the
party and close associates must continue to
accept him/her as the leader over time. He
has to demonstrate his leadership qualities
in the party affairs, especially internal conflict management, and offer inspiring solutions to complex political issues. This kind
of political clout develops over time. While
leading the political party to success in the
elections, the dynastic leader must win the
confidence of the senior colleagues.
Benazir Bhutto started her political career under the leadership of her mother after
the death of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto. Later, she
assumed an independent role and worked
hard for many years inside and outside of
Pakistan, faced imprisonment and years of
exile, to acquire a world class stature.
Bilawal Bhutto has embarked on a career with a natural advantage. However, the
next 7 to 10 years will determine his stature
and role as the leader. If he excels in party
management and how to address the political challenges, he will become a leader in
his own right. Only then will he become the
leader of historical significance.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Benazir Bhutto
had advantage over most of their colleagues
due to superior intellect and an intelligent
understanding of global and comparative
politics. This quality was acquired through
reading good literature on political and societal affairs and seeking of briefings from
knowledgeable people. Hopefully, Bilawal
will follow the family tradition of acquiring
superior intellect and a sound understanding of domestic and foreign affairs.
If the mandate of a dynastic leader is renewed by popular mandate on a regular basis
in a fair and free electoral exercise within the
framework of a liberal democratic framework, dynastic leadership helps to strengthen
democracy in transitional societies.
The writer is an independent political
and defence analyst.

Game changer or a spoiler
Qadri seems intent on throwing a spanner in the works

By Malik Muhammad Ashraf

T

he sudden and late in the day entry
of a religious scholar-cum-politician Dr Tahir-ul-Qadri into the political arena – after remaining in the
political wilderness for five years – with
a vow to force changes in the political
system before elections through agitation, is a much fancied subject of discussion in the media, political circles and
the intelligentsia. While the need for
changes in the political system can
hardly be contested, the timing of his appearance and the mode of affecting those
changes, as suggested by him, is certainly
very intriguing.
Without going into and judging the
authenticity of the motive behind his unceremonious appearance, and the con-

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

spiracy theories being bandied around
regarding Qadri acting as an errand boy
of the establishment, I will be focusing
on the contents of his speech, their constitutional validity or otherwise, and the
repercussions that are likely to emerge
from the solutions contemplated by him
to cleanse the system of its ailments. The
thrust of his speech was that the political
system was not being run as per the constitution and those who were elected as
members of the parliament did not meet
the standards set by the constitution for
the eligibility of the candidates and
therefore changes were required in the
way the people are elected to the parliament. He extensively quoted the constitutional clauses to substantiate his
viewpoint and insisted he was not aiming
to undermine the constitution or have
the elections postponed.
I as an anodyne observer and a student of political science honestly feel that
his discourse was self-contradictory in
regards to his respect for the constitution. He proposed an interim government comprising of technocrats in whose
formation the military and judiciary
should also have a role. Where in the
constitution do these institutions have a
role in deciding the formation of the interim setup? Nowhere. The proposal is
therefore unconstitutional; enough to
dent his credibility and claim of respect-

ing the constitution. He further said that
the political and religious forces outside
the parliament should also be made part
of this process. That again is against the
constitution. The constitution bestows
this responsibility on the government
and the opposition who enjoy the mandate of the masses.
Now coming to the changes: his
speech concentrated on unraveling the
inadequacies of the system and the imperative to transform it but he did not
spell out clearly what kind of changes
were required to be made. The strategy
that he unfolded to have those vaguely
described changes effected was also unconstitutional to say the least. The
change in the political system would require constitutional amendments with
the consensus of the majority comprising
the members of the parliament as enunciated by the constitution and not
through agitation and coercion.
If he is genuinely concerned about the
state of affairs in the country and honestly
feels that he must play a role in changing
the game, he should adopt a constitutional way of doing it. The elections are
around the corner and he must participate in the elections and win the mandate
of the people to make the changes he perceives are required to be put in place. He
cannot justify his claim of having the support of the masses by simply organising a

rally of two million or having four million
gathered at Islamabad. Pakistan has a
population of 180 million and his claim of
masses’ support can only be tested
through his electoral triumph.
The disruption of elections will reaffirm the authenticity of a permeating notion that the rightist and religious
elements in this country have always
played the role of a spoiler. The political
entities supporting the strategy of Qadri
also need to revisit their stance as it can
portray them in dismal colours as far as
their democratic credentials are concerned. The PPP and PML-N, who represent the majority of the masses in the
parliament, and other smaller parties, are
unanimous in their stance of holding the
elections on time. Having the elections
postponed, as Qadri hinted in his speech,
and paralysing the functioning of the government will only play into the hands of
the forces inimical to a democratic setup
in the country. And God forbid if that
happens, Qadri will be remembered in
the history as a spoiler who played a role
in shattering the dreams of the masses to
tread the democratic path for realising
their cherished dreams in conformity
with the vision of the Quaid.
Pakistan has already suffered due to
such unconstitutional undertakings and
politics of agitation. The only way Pakistan can rediscover itself is to follow

the constitution. Any other course will
lead to yet another disaster. Qadri must
realise that it is not the ends that justify
the means but the means that justify the
ends. If he believes he has a noble cause
he must strive for its fulfillment
through noble, legitimate and accepted
political norms.
Democracy has been restored and
saved through a very arduous and valiant
struggle. No doubt all the major political
forces have also contributed to this cause
but bulk of the credit goes to the PPP and
its leadership which has a proven history
of standing against the dictatorial
regimes. The anti-people and antidemocracy forces have made relentless
efforts during the last four years to derail
the system, but thanks to the political
sagacity of the leadership of PPP and
supportive role played by other political
parties, including PML-N, the country is
poised for a smooth transition of power
through ballot for the first time.
The PPP, PML (N) and all other political parties are already running their
electoral campaigns. Let the power of the
ballot determine what course and what
changes are needed to be adopted. Remember, even the worst kind of democracy is better than dictatorship or any
other unconstitutional arrangement.
The writer is an academic.

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:26 AM Page 11

Comment 11

Nation building

Editor’s mail

We don’t need another Jinnah

By Adeel Amjad

2

5th December, the birth anniversary of Quai-e-Azam, is usually
celebrated with passion to remind the nation about the sacrifices
by our great leader and others in laying the foundation of Pakistan. But
even after 65 years, this nation still
has no idea what it wants and what it
needs. Some question the creation of
Pakistan as a necessary step while
some say it was our political right and
we did the right thing in demanding a
separate homeland. There is division
among us as to the purpose of Pakistan’s creation with some quoting
Muhammad Ali Jinnah’s 11 th August
speech. But has this led us to any
worthwhile situation? Or, should we
keep waiting for another Jinnah while
mourning on his demise? Isn’t it time
to leave everything aside and start
looking for the answers to the questions that require our immediate attention, like poverty, illiteracy, health
care, lack of development in social
sector, etc?
Jinnah’s address to the first constituent assembly of Pakistan clearly
separated the business of state from
religious preferences. He asked for
complete independence regarding the
performance of religious duties for all
the citizens of Pakistan. It states,
“You are free; you are free to go to
your temples, you are free to go to
your mosques or to any other place of
worship in this state of Pakistan. You
may belong to any religion, caste or
creed; this has nothing to do with the
business of the state.” But, what has
been done till now is totally the other
way around. Muslims, Christians,
Hindus and every other minority are
equally unsafe in performing their religious duties. Prayers are offered in
the shadows of guns and Pakistani society has taken a turn towards the
worse by becoming highly affected by

the sectarian beliefs. The so-called
‘Laboratory of Islam’ is now a playground for militants and extremists in
which Muslims are butchered on the
basis of their sectarian beliefs, Christians are being killed in the name of
blasphemy and Hindus are being
forced to migrate simply because of
intolerance.
Ideally speaking, religious scholars, analysts and political activists
who believe Pakistan to be a land for
Muslims only and a laboratory to experience with Islamic teachings,
should learn from the statement of
the Founding Father. The struggle for
Pakistan was political in nature. The
demand for a separate homeland was
considered unprecedented but the
creation of Pakistan became a glaring
achievement. So, arguing Pakistan to
be the land for Muslims only is a misleading argument being used by the
apologists to put a limit on the people
of other religions and also to make
them realise about their lesser status
in the society.
What if Jinnah were alive? Would
the situation be any different? Politicians use quotes from Jinnah’s
speeches at different occasions, trying
to look like each one of them has a
deeper attachment to the Quaid than
the next one. They keep reminding us
that Jinnah is no more with us, and
we, the people of Pakistan, sadly start
mourning the demise of the greatest
leader of this country, forgetting his
legacy, something that should have
never been forgotten.
It is high time we told these politicians that enough with using Jinnah
as your emotional card and as your
rallying call to gather political support for the very ideals that clash with
every bit of what Jinnah has ever
stood for. This country does not need
another Jinnah; it only needs to stick
to the principles laid down by Jinnah
himself. Following his teachings, solutions to the problems of Pakistan
can easily be found. When each member of our society has a tiny bit of
what Jinnah has always asked us to
do in our heart, we sure can do wonders for this country.
In his first address, Jinnah had
asked the constituent assembly to
function as a sovereign body as the
federal legislature of Pakistan. The
current Majlis-e-Shoora of Pakistan is
still fighting to prove its parliamentary supremacy before the establishment of Pakistan. Jinnah had asked

the legislature to work on the maintenance of law and order, to protect life,
property and religious beliefs of the
citizens of Pakistan. Has the legislature(s) in Pakistan succeeded in performing this task? To some extent,
yes, but mainly a big no. Our assemblies have come a long way over time
but their basic objectives remain unfulfilled yet.
The problems pointed out by Jinnah in the first address to the constituent assembly of Pakistan are no
more different than the current issues. The issues of bribery, corruption, nepotism, robbery and black
marketing are still there with the
state being curiously inconspicuous of
these issues. The socio-economic
problems are eating the fabric of our
society from inside out. The real
problem for us is not the issues we
are, or have been, facing but the reasons why we have not moved forward.
Pakistan virtually still stands at
the same position as it was 65 years
ago. The only development, if it can
even be called that, has been the development of a consensus by both the
religious and political forces of the
country to strengthen democracy. But
this unity of opinion is and will always remain under the threat of dictatorial forces in the country. And
ironically, every dictator in Pakistan
has presented himself as the real follower of Jinnah.
We first need to accept that we are
facing problems, only then can we
work for their solutions. These solutions cannot be found in arguing
about the past and lamenting the demise of Jinnah; instead they can be
found by achieving the goals laid
down in the very first address of the
Father of the Nation. We must also
take into consideration that democracy is a process of trial and error,
and it takes time to lay down its roots.
The establishment of a progressive
society can only be achieved by sticking to the principles of equality, justice and fair play.
Pakistan is waging an existential
war against the militant and extremist forces. We need to move forward
and take responsibility for our incompetence. We don’t need a new Jinnah
for no one else can provide us what
we want other than we, us and ourselves.
The writer can be reached at
a.amjad@decurious.com

Goodbye 2012
O year 2012 that gripped the
country in a vicious cycle of events
without any respite, I fare thee well,
though it is hard to forget the memory
of ruthless target killings of innocent
people, unprecedented burning to
death of trapped factory workers,
extortion of money from businessmen
in Karachi, kidnappings for ransom
and ruthless killing of innocent people
in Balochistan, loss of scores of
innocent lives at the hands of suicide
bombers in KP, death of poor citizens
in fake encounters or by lethal cough
syrup and greeting of newborns by rats
in government hospitals in Punjab
(the kingdom of self-proclaimed
Khadim-e-Aala).
We say farewell to the year that
witnessed pledges and vows of
politicians to protect the so-called
democracy at all costs (which quite
literally seems true as we are paying
through our nose for it) from being
derailed (as if it were on track) while
simultaneously accusing, abusing and
slandering each other for creating the
mess resulting in conditions conducive
to postponement of 2013 elections.
The loud declaration by lawmakers
that parliament is supreme and equal
retorts by the judiciary that it being
arbiter of constitution is sovereign and
supreme do not seem to be
understandable.
If masses suffer under heavy
weight of poverty, price hike and
inflation due to fiscal mismanagement,
what is the use of supremacy of one or
the other pillar of state?
The year also saw claims and
slogans for change, pledges of ruthless
accountability and devolution of power
to grassroots by the very people who
don’t pay taxes, are the worst
plunderers of money, and molesters of
law. The mutual hospitality and
hostility between the PPP and PML-N
is astonishing and beyond
comprehension in this regard.
Similarly, we witnessed another bearer
of change, a Canadian citizen, who in
collaboration with, a British national,
and the Q League is going to fix this
country yet another time.
Regardless these deplorable and

depressing happenings, there are some
unforgettable and happy events such
as winning of World Armature
Snooker Championship, wining of Asia
Hockey Cup, and victory in ODI
cricket match against India.
I pray and wish that the new year
brings happy ending to the
controversies prevalent in the society
and replaces them with a change in the
upcoming elections.
RAJA SHAFAATULLAH
Islamabad

nostalgia with kingship
The description of Mr Bilawal
Bhutto Zardari as the next king on the
horizon in a section of the press
betrays a nostalgia with the worn out
kingship of bygone days of Moghul
and English kings and emperors that
ruled us, including Mahraja Ranjit
Singh. This is certainly in bad taste
since the democracy has dawned upon
Pakistan. The very idea of displaying
our democratic rulers as kings and
queens feeds a wrong idea to the
population that Pakistan, born out of
an epic struggle by the Muslims of the
subcontinent under the historic
leadership of Quaid-e-Azam
Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is to have
kings now in the 21st century.
This shows that we have not shed
the hangover of English emperors like
George the fifth who called himself
King of England and Emperor of India.
We ought to move away from the
shadows of “Zilley Illahis” that
adorned the titles of Moghul kings and
move into the glorious period of
democratic rule.
A section of press ought not be
carried away by the personal charm of
a would-be-ruler to belittle the people
at large whose votes will decide the
future leadership. As such our press
must be people oriented rather than
personality worshippers. The drama of
life operates on a much broader screen
rather than the moustached generals
in decorated uniforms or civilian
dictators who pose as “gurus” of
politics but are incapable of improving
the lot of poor masses. The people’s
needs have moved further than “roti
kapra and makaan”. They also need
shoes, clean water, basic education as
also basic health care and social
justice to dispel the notion of rich
rulers and abject poverty of masses
that are destined to remain forever so.
The “welfare state” concept of Islam
needs to be observed at all times,
instead of encouraging rulers to
become kings and the people as
downtrodden subjects being mired in
sloth and hunger.
DR MUHAMMAD YAQOOB BHATTI
Lahore

I N G e R Jay-Z reportedly splashed 25,000
pounds on alcohol during a gig with band Coldplay. The singer performed with the band here
Dec 31 night at Barclays Center, the home of the
Brooklyn Nets basketball team owned by Jay-Z. Jay-Z
had a private lounge nicknamed The Vault, which was
specially highlighted for the occasion, reports
thesun.co.uk. Inside the VIP area was a wall created
from hundreds of bottles of Armand de Brignac Brut
Gold - worth more than 300 pounds each. He also ordered a 30 litre bottle of the drink for the night. It was
more than four feet high, weighed about 100kg and
took two burly blokes to lift. The guests included Beyonce, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cheryl Cole and her boyfriend
Tre Holloway. nEWs DEsK

H

NEWS DESK

AILING from an army
background, Anushka Sharma has
led a very quiet and disciplined
life, but confesses her profession
has now made her an attentionseeker - an “occupational hazard” for all actors. “I
am not spoilt as I was brought up in an army
background. But every actor is an attentionseeker. It is an occupational hazard for us. If I
don’t seek attention, I will not be doing my work
well,” Anushka told IANS in an interview. The
actress made her Bollywood debut in 2008 with
“Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi” and later went on to do
films like “Badmaash Company”, “Band Baaja
Baaraat”, “Ladies v/s Ricky Bahl” and most
recently “Jab Tak Hai Jaan”. In a short span of
four years, Anushka has carved a niche for herself
in Bollywood and the 24-year-old says she wants
to use her success to do things on her own terms.
“You should use success as a way of doing your
work in a better way. I want to be successful to be
able to do things on my own terms. You should use
your stardom and success to be able to pull people
into the theatre. That’s what I would want to do
with my success,” Anushka said. Asked what her
mantra to survive in the industry is, she said: “Do
your work and mind your own business; that is the

only way.” Anushka admits she wasn’t sure
about the film industry before she joined it,
but her views changed once she became a
part of it. “I used to think it is a dirty field
because of these news channels playing
dumb stories. But now I feel that when
you get a lot here, you need to give back
equally too. So whoever is the biggest
star right now is working that much
harder,” she said. After garnering critical
acclaim for her performance in “Jab Tak
Hai Jaan”, Anushka will now be seen in
Vishal Bhardwaj’s “Matru Ki Bijlee Ka
Mandola” opposite Imran Khan and
Pankaj Kapoor. It releases Jan 11. The
actress found the role of Bijlee
challenging as it was difficult for
her to relate to it. “This is the
first time I dealt with something
which I just could not relate to.
When I was growing up I was
not at all spoilt. There was no
scope for throwing tantrums
in my house. Plus, she (Bijlee)
is not a stereotypical spoilt
brat. I could not look at my
personal references for this. I
had to be like someone else
totally,” she said.

Hollywood’s ‘I do’ moments of

Britney Spears
in a Hindi film?
NEWS DESK

NEWS DESK

rapper Honey Singh booked for
‘vulgar’ song

A

first information report (FIR) was filed against Punjabi
rapper here Monday over allegedly vulgar lyrics of his
song, the complainant said. The complaint was lodged
by senior Indian Police Service officer Amitabh Thakur for the
“extremely vulgar and indecent songs” like “Main hun
balatkaria” (I am a rapist). The FIR, number 606, was
registered at Gomtinagar police station in the city. Thakur
told IANS that he found the lyrics extremely vulgar, lewd and
indecent, and felt that the song acted as an offensive
catalyst for crime against women. FIR has been registered
under Sections 292, 293 and 294 of the Indian Penal Code
that deal with obsenity at public place. Other than Punjabi
films, Honey Singh has sung songs for Hindi films “Cocktail”,
“Khiladi 786”, “ Race 2” and “Son of Sardar”. nEWs DEsK

While the first half of the year was
relatively quiet, the second half saw a
flurry of activity that ensured that the
wedding planners had no time to breathe.
These Hollywood couples gave the
paparazzi a slip and managed to keep their
wedding plans under wraps. However, that
does not mean that these were frugal
affairs. A lot of money was spent on these
elegant ceremonies that saw varied
themes.
Kate wInsLet
anD neD roCK’nroLL
Titanic co-star
Leonardo DiCaprio
gave the bride (Kate)
away as she tied the
knot with Ned
Rock’nRoll at a
private ceremony in
New York earlier this
month. The wedding
took place in a converted
barn, and even their families were unaware
of the nuptials. Just 12 of the couple’s
friends were present for the marriage. Kate
and 34-year-old Ned, who has changed his
name from Abel Smith, got engaged this
summer after a year of dating.
anne HatHawaY anD aDaM sHuLMan

‘blessed’ kim kardashian
confirms pregnancy

K

IM Kardashian confirmed on
Monday that she is pregnant
with her beau Kanye West’s baby. The
confirmation comes just one day after West
announced the news live on stage
in Atlanta City on Sunday. “It’s true!!
Kanye and I are expecting a baby,”
the Mirror quoted Kardashian as writing on her
website. “We feel so blessed and lucky
and wish that in addition to both of our
families, his mom and my dad could be here to
celebrate this special time with us.
“Looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013
and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!!” she
wrote. Kardashian is reportedly three months
pregnant. On Sunday, West had shouted “stop the
music,” on stage before revealing, “Make noise for
my baby mama right here!” nEWs DEsK

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Anne Hathaway
married actorjewellery designer
Adam Shulman in
October. Shulman
popped the question
by holding up a
reportedly six-carat
diamond ring. Anne
wore a dress designed by
Valentino, while Adam was dressed in a
dapper tuxedo. The two said ‘I Do’ in a
ceremony attended by 100 guests.
BLaKe LIVeLY anD rYan reYnoLDs
They were seen together
in the movie Green
Lantern. An year
later, rumours
about their
romance surfaced.
The two got married
in a secret ceremony

in September at the Boone Hall Plantation
in Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina.
MattHew MCConaugHeY
anD CaMILa aLVes
After living together
for six years and
playing doting
parents to three
kids, the couple
tied the knot in
Texas in June.

JustIn tIMBerLaKe
anD JessICa BIeL
Justin and Jessica, who
have been dating for
five years, said their
‘I dos’ in a rustic
Italian ceremony in
front of close friends
and family. The
couple even kept their
guests in the dark about
exactly when the wedding would
take place after flying them out to Southern
Italy for a week-long celebration, estimated to
have cost the couple $6.5 million.
Drew BarrYMore anD wILL
KopeLMan
A pregnant Drew
married her fiance of
five months, Will, in a
ceremony at her
Montecito,
California, home in
June. The couple
announced their
engagement in January. At
the wedding, guests included: Jim
Toth, Jimmy Fallon and wife Nancy Juvonen,
Busy Philipps and Cameron Diaz.
aLeC BaLDwIn anD HILarIa tHoMas
Alec married Hilaria in New York
in June. Wed before 175
guests, including Woody
Allen and Tina Fey, the
couple exchanged gold
wedding bands with the
inscription ‘We are a
good team’ written in
Spanish.

Sadanandan Lucsam, a film
producer from Kerala who
made India’s first food
comedy, ‘Salt ‘N’
Pepper’, has signed
Britney Spears for a
song-and-dance
number in his
untitled debut Hindi
production.
“Britney’s song is
an integral part
of the film. She
sings and
dances to the
title track of
the movie,
which is a
peppy
number and
will be shot
lavishly. It
will be a
proper Hindi
number with
some good
English
lines as
well, to
make it
universal in
its appeal,”
says

Sadanandan.
The filmmaker
claims to have
made the
payments to one
of her agencies.
He says he has
blocked her dates
and is working on
the song. The
producer adds that
he will officially
announce the name
of the project, along
with the cast and
crew members,
closer to when the
film goes on floors.
“We do not believe
in tom-tomming
about the project
before we start work.
We want to make
sure that things are
in place before we
announce the name
of the music
directors,” says
Sadanandan.

CTOR Salman Khan jumped to the defence of his
arch rival Shah Rukh Khan while having an
argument with Bigg Boss contestant Imam
Siddique, recently. Apparently, Imam got into
a heated argument with Salman, and said that
he cast SRK for ad films that worked very well for him.To
this Salman said: “Shah Rukh is in the industry because
of his hard work and support of his fans... not because
Imam cast him in an advertisement.” How the Khan vs
Khan fight started Back in 2008, reportedly, a slightly
inebriated Salman Khan offended Shah Rukh Khan
when he and wife Gauri Khan came for Katrina Kaif’s
birthday bash. Salman was apparently upset with SRK
for turning down a guest role in Salman’s production,
Mr And Mrs Khanna (2009). On being taunted by
Salman, SRK retaliated by taking a dig at Salman’s
past relationship with Aishwarya Rai. It got ugly as
the two stars were apparently prepared to fight it
out. Literally. Shah Rukh trashes reports of truce
with Salman Khan Actor Shah Rukh Khan has
dismissed reports of a “patch up” between him and
the Dabangg star Salman Khan. “Bachpan se
poochte aa rahe ho yeh sawal...ab toh bade ho jaoo
(Please grow up...you people have always been
asking the same question),” Shah Rukh retorted
when asked whether the acrimony between him and
Salman has finally come to end. Differences with
Salman won’t be resolved publicly: SRK Bollywood
superstar Shah Rukh Khan says his longstanding
disagreements with Salman Khan will not come to an end
courtesy a film, a filmmaker or an actress. And neither would
it be on a public platform. The two Bollywood icons, who did
films like Karan Arjun and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai together, had a
major fight in 2008 at Salman’s then girlfriend, Katrina Kaif’s
birthday bash. Shah Rukh Khan-Salman Khan patch up at Jab Tak
Hai Jaan premiere? It was long, ugly and public. But like most
Bollywood fights, the one between superstars Shah Rukh and
Salman Khan too seems to finally have come to an end.

Chris Brown paints picture for
Rihanna, calls her his ‘girl for life’
NEWS DESK
Rapper Chris Brown has
reportedly spent months
working on a romantic
painting for Rihanna.
Brown’s painting depicts the
two of them in a loving
embrace and includes a
personal message that reads
- “You’re my girl for life”,
reports femalefirst.co.uk.
“He and Rihanna are crazy as
hell. Chris had a bomb time
with Rihanna over

Christmas. He was scared,
though, when she came to his
house because Chris has been
working on a painting for
like two months for her,”
femalefirst.co.uk quoted a
source as saying.”He painted
this picture of him and her
together and it’s amazing.
It’s him and her together.
She is looking forward and
he’s kissing her on the cheek.
Chris painted the gold
necklace around her neck
that he got her and at the

Scarlett Johansson:
Marriage ‘not
important’

bottom he wrote - ‘You’re my
girl for life’,” added the
source. The source said the
painting has already been
shipped to Rihanna.”I
don’t know if Rihanna
got the painting yet, but
he shipped it to her and I
know she will go crazy
when she sees it. I don’t
know why Chris didn’t put it
on Instagram, but I guess
they want some stuff to
themselves,” said the
source.

NEWS DESK

Pakistani singer Nabeel Shaukat Ali wins Sur Kshetra
NEWS DESK
Pakistani contestant Nabeel
Shaukat Ali was crowned the
winner of the Indo-Pak Musical
series - Sur Kshetra on COLORS. In
a close contest between Nabeel and
his Indian counterpart Diljaan
where both the ‘musical warriors’
were asked to prove themselves in
a variety of songs, Nabeel walked
home with the trophy on account of
his versatility. In the 16 weeks
musical battle, Nabeel managed to
win the hearts of the audience and
judges alike with his diverse
performances and ability to adapt
to different singing styles. This is
no small achievement for the man
from Lahore who dreamed to make
it big in the world of singing since
he was a child. Nabeel has trained
under the guidance of Ustad
Ghulam Ali Khan and has also won
the Azme Alishan National Song
Competition season II in Pakistan
in 2011. It seems that finally years
of hard work has paid off for the
young singer as he now holds the

title of being an international
singing star.Talking about his win,
Nabeel said, “Winning or losing is
always the end of a competition, I
believe what is important is the
journey you take in the process of
achieving that target. In a way, all
four of us our winners to have
reached the finale but since one of
us had to win the title of Sur

Kshetra, I feel privileged to have
won it. It’s a moment of pride that I
did something for my country. For
this, I would give all the credit to
our mentor, Atif Aslam for all the
motivation and guidance he has
shown us throughout the show.” In
one of the episodes of Sur Kshetra,
Nabeel had mentioned Sonu Nigam
to be his role model and his Team

Captain – Atif Aslam had promised
Nabeel that he would introduce
him to the legend. We hope with
this victory Nabeel gets a chance to
not just meet his idol but also
opens up an opportunity of
working with him. As part of the
win, the star has already won a
chance to sing in Boney Kapoor’s
film No Entry 2!

Scarlett Johansson, who separated from her husband of
two years Ryan Reynolds in 2010, says marriage is not a
priority for her. “I got married when I was young and it
was incredibly romantic and I liked being married,
actually,” Johansson, 28, says in an interview in the
February issue of Elle UK, being published Wednesday.
“But it is different. It’s hard to put into words. To me,
being in a functioning
relationship doesn’t mean
you have to be married.”
She added: “I never think
about marriage. Is that
weird? The only time I
ever think about it is
when people ask
me.”Johansson, who last
year played screen
star Janet Leigh
in “Hitchcock”
and superhero
Natasha
Romanoff, the
Black Widow, in
“The Avengers,”
asked
rhetorically:
“Would I get
married again?
It’s really not
important to
me. It has no
relevance to me
right now. I’m
not having kids
any time soon,
I’m in a nice
relationship,
I’m working a
lot and, like I
said, it’s not
important to me.”
Her ex-husband
apparently doesn’t
hold the same
view.

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:28 AM Page 14

Infotainment 14
Giant Pandas hold new weapon
in fight against superbugs
giant Pandas may be a rich source of powerful new antibiotic drugs, scientists have discovered

T

HEIR endangered status and distinctive,
cuddly appearance has turned them into
the poster-child of wildlife conservation,
but now there may be a new reason to
save the giant panda from extinction.
Scientists have discovered that the animals, of
which there are around 1,600 in the wild, produce
a powerful antibiotic in their blood stream that
kills bacteria and fungi. They believe the substance could be used to create potent new treatments against drug resistant superbugs and other
diseases. The antibiotic is thought to be released
by the bear’s immune system to protect them infections when they are living in the wild. Researchers discovered the compound, known as
cathelicidin-AM, after analysing the panda’s DNA.
Fortunately, scientists will not need to depend
upon the animal’s notoriously unreliable breeding
capacity to harvest the new antibiotic as they have
been able to synthesis it artificially in the lab by decoding the genes to produce a small molecule
known as a peptide. Dr Xiuwen Yan, who led the
research at the Life Sciences College of Nanjing
Agricultural University in China, said: “It showed
potential antimicrobial activities against wide spectrum of microorganisms including bacteria and
fungi, both standard and drug-resistant strains.
“Under the pressure of increasing microorganisms with drug resistance against conventional antibiotics, there is urgent need to develop new type
of antimicrobial agents. “Gene-encoded antimicrobial peptides play an important role in innate immunity against noxious microorganisms. They
cause much less drug resistance of microbes than
conventional antibiotics.” Pandas have dwindled
considerably as their bamboo forest habitat in
China and south east Asia has been destroyed. Attempts increase their numbers have been frustrated
the extreme difficulty in getting them to breed in
captivity. They are notoriously poor at breeding,
even in the wild, as the females only come into sea-

After 63 years, uS Postal
Service delivers calendar

T

son once a year. Despite millions of pounds being
spent using expensive artificial breeding techniques, their numbers have increased little, leading
to arguments about whether the money could be
put to better use on other conservation projects.
But many argue that the black and white bears
act as a symbol of the need to save wildlife from
extinction and help with fund-raising for conservation projects. The discovery that they produce
powerful compounds that can be used to make
new drugs will almost certainly strengthen the
case to conserve the endangered creatures.
The Chinese researchers found that the cathelicidin-AM, which is produced by immune cells in
the animal’s blood, was found to kill bacteria in
less than an hour while other well known antibi-

otics took more than six hours. They hope to develop the substance either as a new drug to tackle
superbugs or as an antiseptic for cleaning surfaces
and utensils. Dr Yan and his colleagues also believe
there may be other potential drugs hidden within
the panda genome. They have also found other
powerful antimicrobial compounds in the mucus
produced by snails and in some amphibians.
Dr Yan said: Antimicrobial peptides are important components in innate immunity – they can provide an effective and fast acting defence against
harmful microorganisms. “More than 1000 antimicrobial peptides have been found from animals,
plants, and microorganisms. Analysis revealed that
the panda cathelicidin had the nearest evolution relationship with dog cathelicidin.” CouRTEsy TELEGRapH

Germany 'exporting' old and
sick to foreign care homes

HE 1950 Pennsylvania Railroad calendar
never made it to James W Flanagan,
general manager of The Scranton Times.
He would never need it: he died in December 1949.
But on Friday, 63 years after his death, the U.S.
Postal Service made a delivery. A mail carrier, with
no explanation of where the package had been the
last 63 years, handed it to Chris O'Hora at The
Times-Tribune's front desk. The calendar, rolled in
a long tube, soon made its way to the office of
Bobby Lynett, a publisher of The Times-Tribune
and CEO of Times-Shamrock Communications.
Mr. Flanagan was The Scranton Times' general
manager from 1936 to his death in 1949 at the age
of 63. He had a 54-year career at the paper,
starting as a salesboy in 1895. The calendar
includes a holiday greeting from an executive at
the railroad company, dated the same month Mr.
Flanagan died. On Friday, Mr. Lynett gently rolled
the large calendar out on his conference table,
curious about its origin and more curious about
where it had been the past 63 years.
Ray Daiutolo, a spokesman for the Postal Service,
said lost mail is sometimes found when a machine
is dismantled or a post office space renovated.
Other times, someone may find a stamped but
unmailed letter or package at a yard sale and then
drop it in the mail, he said. Mr. Daiutolo was
unable to trace the package's history on Friday.
A new sticker, dated last week from a distribution
centre in Pittsburgh, accompanied two 4-cent
William Howard Taft stamps, which appear to have
been cancelled decades ago, on the tube. The
calendar, originally mailed from the Philadelphia
publicity department of the Pennsylvania Railroad,
features the painting "Crossroads of Commerce" by
Grif Teller. The Pennsylvania Railroad merged
with New York Central Railroad in 1968.
Mr. Lynett said he will contact officials at the
Steamtown National Historic Site to see if they are
interested in displaying the calendar. If not, it will
be displayed somewhere in The Scranton Times
building, he said. "We'll find a good home for it.
That's for sure," he said. CouRTEsy TELEGRapH

Pensioners are being sent to care homes in Eastern Europe and
Asia in an austerity move dismissed as 'inhumane deportation'

beer to become 'alcohol' in
russia on new year's day

B

EER in Russia will become an alcoholic
drink for the first time on New Year's Day.
Many Russians consider beer a soft drink –
a light refresher that can be guzzled on the way to
work or sucked down in great quantities before a
picnic and a swim in the river.
Hard drinkers sniff at its weakness, as the saying
goes: "Beer without vodka is like throwing money
to the wind." But the hung-over nation woke up to
a new and troubling reality on New Year's when
beer in Russia was declared an alcoholic drink for
the very first time.
Until now the brew has been considered a foodstuff
along with all other drinks under 10 per cent in
strength. It could be bought from street kiosks or
at railway stations, as well as from countless 24hour corner shops, just like fruit juice or mineral
water. Beer's new status as alcohol, however, will
prevent retail sales from street outlets such as
kiosks, railway stations, bus stops and petrol
stations – which account for up to 30 per cent of
sales – as well as preventing sales between 11pm
and 8am, and introducing a ban on television
advertising of beer.
The new restrictions were signed off by then
President Dmitry Medvedev in 2011 as part of an
attempt to counter alcohol abuse, which he earlier
called a "national calamity".
The average Russian drinks the equivalent of 32
pints of pure alcohol per year and about 500,000
deaths annually are thought to be drink-related.
That includes a large number of about 30,000
annual road accident deaths and of several
thousand cases of drowning. CouRTEsy TELEGRapH

Growing numbers of elderly
and sick Germans are being
sent overseas for long-term
care in retirement and rehabilitation centres because of
rising costs and falling standards in Germany.
The move, which has
seen thousands of retired
Germans rehoused in homes
in Eastern Europe and Asia,
has been severely criticised
by social welfare organisations who have called it "inhumane deportation".
But with increasing
numbers of Germans unable
to afford the growing costs of
retirement homes, and an
ageing and shrinking population, the number expected
to be sent abroad in the next
few years is only likely to
rise. Experts describe it as a
"time bomb".
Germany's chronic care
crisis – the care industry
suffers from lack of workers
and soaring costs – has for
years been mitigated by eastern Europeans migrating to
Germany in growing numbers to care for the country's
elderly.
But the transfer of old
people to eastern Europe is
being seen as a new and desperate departure, indicating
that even with imported,
cheaper workers, the system
is unworkable.
Germany has one of the
fastest-ageing populations in
the world, and the movement here has implications

for other western countries,
including Britain, particularly amid fears that austerity measures and rising care
costs are potentially undermining standards of residential care.
Researchers found an estimated 7,146 German pensioners living in retirement
homes in Hungary in 2011.
More than 3,000 had been
sent to homes in the Czech
Republic, and there were
more than 600 in Slovakia.
There are also unknown
numbers in Spain, Greece
and Ukraine. Thailand and
the Philippines are also attracting increasing numbers.
According to Germany's
federal bureau of statistics,
more than 400,000 senior
citizens are currently unable
to afford a German retirement home, a figure that is
growing by around 5% a year.
The reasons are rising
care home costs – which average between €2,900 and
€3,400 (£2,700) a month,
stagnating pensions, and the
fact that people are more
likely to need care as they
get older.
As
a
result,
the
Krankenkassen or statutory
insurers that make up Germany's state insurance system are openly discussing
how to make care in foreign
retirement homes into a
long-term workable financial model.
In Asia, and eastern and

southern Europe, care workers' pay and other expenses
such as laundry, maintenance and not least land and
building costs, are often
much lower.
Today, European Union
law prevents state insurers
from signing contracts directly with overseas homes,
but that is likely to change as
legislators are forced to find
ways to respond to Europe's
ageing population.
The lack of legislation
has not stopped retired people or their families from
opting for foreign homes if
their pensions could cover
the costs.
But critics of the move
have voiced particular worries about patients with dementia, amid concern that
they are being sent abroad
on the basis that they will
not know the difference.
With Germany's population expected to shrink from
almost 82 million to about
69 million by 2050, one in
every 15 – about 4.7 million
people – are expected to be
in need of care, meaning the
problem of provision is only
likely to worsen.
German politicians have
shied away from dealing
with the subject, largely due
to fears of a voter backlash if
Germany's state insurers are
seen to be financing care
workers abroad to the detriment of the domestic care
industry. CouRTEsy GuaRDian

daredevil gorilla
walks across tightrope

F

IRST he was homesick, but Kidogo, a gorilla
in Krefeld zoo in Germany, now appears to
be enjoying himself with a walk across a
tightrope similar to daredevil Nik Wallenda.
The 12-year-old silverback moved to Germany
from Denmark's Givskud Zoo at the end of March.
He was acquired by the German zoo after the
previous male gorilla Massa proved to be infertile.
Kidogo, a western lowland gorilla nicknamed 'King
Kodo' by his keepers, shares his gorilla garden with
females Muna, 23 and Oya, 24. Roughly translated
from Swahili, his name means "small".
After he initially suffered extreme homesickness,
he has now discovered he is somewhat of an
artiste. This year, Krefeld zoo celebrates its 75
anniversary. A tightrope-walking gorilla would
likely be a highlight of any zoo.
Kidogo, with a little more practice, could join the
ranks of the great tightrope walkers. In June,
Wallenda became the first man to walk across
Niagara Falls on a high wire.
Wallenda, part of a famous acrobatic dynasty,
edged his way for 1,800ft along a two-inch
diameter steel rope nearly 200 feet above the
world renowned falls. CouRTEsy TELEGRapH

AKISTAN cricket legend Imran Khan
lamented that the match-fixing scandal
has robbed the country of two match winning bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer. “Imagine if they were playing in
this Pakistan team. Pakistan would be a formidable
attack,” said Imran during a panel discussion on NDTV
after Pakistan’s
six-wicket triumph in the first
one-day international against India.
The duo along with
then Pakistan captain
Salman Butt were found
guilty of spot-fixing during
the
Lord’s Test
against
Eng-

land in the summer of 2010. When asked whether
Pakistan were reliving the glory days despite this
scandal after Junaid Khan ripped through India’s
top order to have them tottering at 29 for 5, Imran
admitted that “match fixing has taken a big toll on
Pakistan”.
“Those two bowlers Mohammad Asif and specially Mohammad Aamer are a big loss,” said the
former Pakistan captain himself a fast bowler.
“In world cricket today there are not many
match winning bowlers. In the past you had (Mut-

tiah) Muralitharan and Shane Warne... two match
winning spinners. Then you had (Glenn) McGrath,
curtley Ambrose, Shoaib Akhtar, Brett Lee, (Andrew) Flintoff for a brief while. Today if you look at
Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel now and then,” said
Imran. “On all conditions you don’t have bowlers
who can run through a team. In Pakistan you had
Mohammad Aamer was certainly a match winner,
Mohammad Asif was one of best new ball bowlers,”
he added.
He said these two bowlers along with sevenfooter Mohammad Irfan and Saeed Ajmal could
have made Pakistan an even more formidable attack. Asked what was the secret behind Pakistan
producing top quality fast bowlers, Imran said: “I
think it where they come from the north of Pakistan
or Punjab, they are physically athletic and their bodies are more equipped for fast bowling.”
He warned that Irfan has to be looked after if he
is to continue making an impact because “he is going
to have fitness problems because he is too tall”.
On India’s new find Bhuvneshwar Kumar who
took a wicket with his first delivery in one-day internationals, Imran said he “swings the ball”.
“To get wickets you need air speed. The greatest
bowlers are one who can use air speed and move the
ball. Or you have to swing the ball which is what
Kumar did. Or you should have bounce. Irfan the
tall Pakistan bowler at his height gets bounce. You
have to have something extraordinary to deceive the
batsman with movement or bounce of the wicket,”
explained Imran.

abbasi and rabia, PHF players of the year
LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF) named
Shakeel Abbasi as the best men player of the
year and Rabia Qadir as the best women
player of the year, M Dilbar best junior players of the year in its 49th general counsel
meeting held here at the National Hockey
Stadium on Monday. Former Pakistan hockey
team captain and best player of the year Shakeel Abbasi was handed over ‘Noor Khan
Trophy’ with Rs 100,000 cash prize while
best women player of the year Rabia Qadir
and best junior player of the year M Dilbar
were awarded ‘Brig Atif Trophy’ and Rs
50,000 each. Punjab University Vice Chancellor Dr Kamran Mujahid congratulated
Rabia Qadir on her great achievement. Rabia
is a student of Punjab University Sports and
Physical Sciences and also the captain of
Pakistan Wapda hockey team. Wapda’s DG
Sports Mian Riffat and hockey team manager
Sagheer Ahmad also felicitated Rabia on getting best women player of the year award.

Pakistan women
team named for
world Cricket Cup
LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

The women wing of the Pakistan Cricket
Board on Tuesday announced 15-member team to take part in the ICC
Women’s World Cricket Cup being
played in Mumbai, India from January
26 to February 17.
“The team is a combination of talent
and efforts have been made to gel experience with young players,” said a
spokesman of PCB.
Sana Mir was retained as captain of the
team and Bismah Maroof will be her
deputy. Following are the members of
the team, Syeda Nain Fatima Abidi, Nida
Rashid, Javeria Wadood, Sidra Amin,
Rabia Shah, Syeda Batool Fatima Naqvi
(WK), Asmavia Iqbal, Qanita Jalil.
Sumiya Siddiqui, Sadia Yousaf, Elizebath
Barkat,Nahida Bibi and Diana Balga.

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

Miandad to watch
final Pak-India
odI in stadium

MUMBAI
bipin Dani

Former Pakistani captain Javed Miandad
says he found no difficulty in getting India
visa. In 2005, it was reported in the press that
any requests for a visa from him would be politely turned down. When Miandad's son, Junaid, married to Mahrooq, the daughter of
Dawood Ibrahim, who is still wanted in India
in connection with the Mumbai bomb-blasts
case of 1993, India's Ministry of External Affairs had apparently taken a decision to deny
former batsman an Indian visa. Speaking exclusively over his mobile on Tuesday, Miandad said: "Absolutely there was no problem
in getting Indian visa. My visa and tickets are
ready and I shall be in Delhi for the scheduled
ODI match on 6th January." Miandad could
not remember when he last came to India. "I
came to India for some Zee TV programme. I
also had my visa ready for the World Cup
semi-final match (India vs Pakistan) in Mohali, but owing to some last-minute change, I
had to cancel my India trip. Hopefully, this
may not happen now", he added. Miandad is
holding the second highest position in the
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and is directly
reporting to chairman Zaka Ashraf. "For PCB
work, I need to travel a lot and hence not getting time to come to India often", he stressed.
The PCB has been sending former greats to
India to witness the bilateral matches, which
have resumed after a gap of five years. Three
out of Mohammad brothers will be in India
for the remaining two ODIs. "I am granted
the visa for Kolkata and Delhi", Mushtaq Mohammad said from London. "I am leaving for
Kolkata tonight", he added. "Sadiq Mohammad is already there in Kolkata and Hanif
Mohammad will join me in Delhi", he added.
All Mohammad brothers, Hanif, Wazir,
Raees, Mushtaq and Sadiq Mohammad were
born in India before partition. The World
Cup winning captain Imran Khan has declined invitation citing political commitments. His cousin and former CEO, Majid
Khan too has declined to come to India.

PCb may now bar Pak players participation in bPl
LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

Pakistan Cricket Board criticised
Bangladesh's decision to abandon a
planned cricket tour over security fears
and threatened to bar its own players
from playing in a Bangladeshi league.
The two nations were scheduled to
play a Twenty20 and a one-day international in Lahore this month, albeit pending security clearance.
But on Monday Bangladesh shelved
what would have been the first international cricket tour of Pakistan since militants wounded seven members of the
Sri Lankan team and their assistant
coach in Lahore in 2009.
Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB)
president Nazmul Hassan said the decision had been taken over fears for players' safety, following protests by
Bangladeshis and a Facebook campaign
against the tour. But Pakistan Cricket
Board (PCB) chairman Zaka Ashraf said

that the decision was "inappropriate".
"The decision to tour was up to the
BCB," Ashraf told said from New Delhi.
"We never forced Bangladesh, but to say
that the security situation was not conducive is inappropriate because their
own delegation was satisfied with the
arrangements."
Ashraf said the Pakistani government had promised top-level security.
"We had promised the best security
arrangements and were hosting matches
in Lahore, which is very safe," said
Ashraf. "An international eleven last
year played matches in Karachi and
there were no problems."
Pakistan hosted two limited-overs
matches in Karachi with players from
South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies in October 2012.
In a statement, the PCB said it
"would only be proper" for the BCB
president to read the report from his security delegation before commenting on
Pakistan's current situation. It warned

that it may now bar Pakistani players
from the second edition of the
Bangladesh Premier League, starting
January 17. The BPL is the Bangladeshi
answer to the Indian Premier League the hugely popular Twenty20 tournament which has fused cricket with showbusiness. In 2012 20 Pakistanis featured
in the tournament, with all-rounder
Shahid Afridi fetching $700,000 in an
auction of stars - the highest amount
bid. More than 50 Pakistanis have already been bought at an auction for the
second edition.
"Now for the 2013 edition of BPL,
we have to see the engagements of our
players before releasing them for the
tournament," the statement said.
Bangladesh was also due to tour Pakistan last April, but the tour was blocked
by the Dhaka high court on security
grounds. Anti-Pakistan sentiment still
runs strong in the country, which was
part of Pakistan until 1971 when it won
independence after a nine-month war.

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:28 AM Page 17

Sports 16

Technical committee inspects NHS blue turf
LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

t

HE laying of the world’s best
Desso Blue Turf at the world’s
biggest sports arena, the National Hockey Stadium has
been completed and the venue is ready
for holding the international matches.
The Sports Board Punjab has taken
special care in the transparency of the
work and quality of the stuff used in the
laying of the blue turf. Usman Anwar,
Director General Sports Board and
Youth Affairs Punjab had a thorough inspection of the turf along with the inspection committee including Shahzad
Qureshi, Emran and Naeemullah Bhatti
on Tuesday. They inspected the base of
the turf, make of the turf, shock pads
and its proper pasting. Later talking to
journalists present during the inspec-

tion of the turf, Usman Anwar said that
the previous company, Swallow International tried to use the obsolete structure of turf which is no more in use
anywhere in the world.
He further informed that the company also tried to use the worn out
shockpads and when an action was
taken, the company tried to use homemade shockpads using old and waste
tires material, which would break while
applying little pressure and were also
damaging for the players muscles.
He further stated that the previous
company also tried to apply political
pressure but the CM clearly directed to
have a transparency in all the affairs.
The SBP DG also revealed the samples of the shockpads, the previous
company tried to lay. He also informed
that the previous company also tried to
bribe an official of the Sports Board but

their nefarious designs were foiled and
the contract was then given to TS
Builders after in inquiry committee
found Swallow International violating
all the terms of the tender document.
“Chief Minister Punjab Mian Shahbaz Sharif directed to lay the state of
the art blue turf at the stadium and
sanctioned Rs 30.5 million but the new
turf cost Rs 10,00,000 less than the
previous company’s price. And also directed transparency and quality so
keeping all that in view, the world’s top
company Desso’s turf which is now
being used all over the world with
polyurethane shockpads, having 10
years guarantee was laid,” he added.
To a question, he said that the turf
is ready for use but an inauguration
match would not be held on the turf
until the FIH gives its final approval
and fitness certificate.

Clarke’s chances Latif asks afridi to take a break
improve for
hussey’s farewell

eden curator
promises
proper odI
wicket

SYDNEY

KOLKATA

aGEnCiEs

aGEnCiEs

Australia skipper Michael Clarke came
through a fitness test on Tuesday, indicating he will play in this week's third test
against Sri Lanka and resolve at least one
of the hosts' selection problems for the
dead rubber match. With an unassailable
2-0 lead in the series, Australia could have
been forgiven for going into the match,
which starts at the Sydney Cricket Ground
on Thursday, riding on the crest of a wave
of optimism for the future. The hammer
blow of Michael Hussey's retirement announcement coming so quickly after that
of Ricky Ponting, though, has left them
contemplating their batting resources with
a test series in India and back-to-back
Ashes encounters to come this year. Sri
Lanka, despite being humbled by an innings and 201 runs inside three days in the
second test in Melbourne, can still hold
onto the hope of claiming a first test victory in Australia on what should be the
most spin-friendly of the three tracks.
Hussey announced last week that the Sydney test would be his 79th and last, and the
37-year-old's chances of going out with a
bang are high if statistics are anything to
go by. "Mr Cricket", as he is affectionately
nicknamed, has averaged 117.75 runs in his
seven previous tests against Sri Lanka, 100
in a similar number of matches at the SCG
and has scored centuries in three of his last
five tests. Australia might need those runs
if Clarke's hamstring is not risked and he
joins all rounder Shane Watson in the
treatment room, leaving a batting order as
low on experience as Sri Lanka's is rich in
it. Usman Khawaja remains on standby for
Clarke and wicketkeeper Matthew Wade
admitted there would be a lot more expectation on those players who have played
fewer than 20 tests, not least the uncapped
Glenn Maxwell. "We've got to accept the
responsibility," Wade told reporters this
week. "It's a big hole that's going to be out
of our team but our young batters are keen
and eager to learn and get better and hopefully there's another 'Mr Cricket' waiting in
our top six
or seven."
Mitchell
Starc is certain to return to
the pace bowling unit,
leaving one of Mitchell
Johnson (man of the
match in Melbourne), Peter
Siddle (ditto in the first test in Hobart) or Jackson Bird (an impressive debutant in Melbourne) to
miss out. Sri Lanka's battered
and bruised tour party, by contrast, have had to call for reinforcements after injuries
ruled out batsman Kumar
Sangakkara and bowler
Chanaka Welagedera and put
serious doubt over wicketkeeper Prasanna Jayawardene
and seamer Nuwan Kulasekara.
Still, batsman Thilan Samaraweera said they were still motivated by the chance of making
a little bit of cricketing history.

LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

Pakistan’s former captain and a prolific allrounder Shahid Khan Afridi has been
under the scanner for his mediocre batting
form throughout last year hence was advised to take a break from game as well
however, the former skipper, Rashid Latif
feels that instead of taking a break the allrounder should revisit his decision to retire
from domestic competitions. “I have not
seen a problem with Afridi’s fitness in the
past year. His batting strike rate was also
impressive but the fact of the matter is that
he spent very little time at the wicket for
his runs. Every batsman needs to give himself time to regain the lost touch and this
is where Afridi lacked in the recent past.”

said Rashid Latif in a television interview.
“Afridi scored 182 runs in 13 ODI innings he played in 2012, but faced only 179
deliveries”, Latif points out Latif further
said that unlike others who faced the similar sort of situation in the past, Afridi
does not play longer-versions of the domestic events. He advised the all-rounder
to revisit his decision. “Younus, Misbah,
Hafeez and others have been through bad

patches, however they overcome the hindrance by scoring heavily in the domestic
events by spending time in the middle.
Afridi should do the same, I feel”, concludes Latif. Shahid Afridi, who has played
27 Test matches for Pakistan, took retirement from the longest version in July
2010. In Test matches, the all-rounder
scored 1716 runs with an average of 36.51
which includes five centuries.

Commentator and writer
Martin-Jenkins dies
LONDON
aGEnCiEs

Christopher Martin-Jenkins, a BBC cricket commentator and newspaper writer, has died of cancer at the
age of 67. Martin-Jenkins was a stalwart of the Test
Match Special radio team and cricket correspondent
of the Daily Telegraph and Times newspapers. He
wrote many books and also served as president of the
Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2010 and 2011.

Veteran curator Prabir
Mukherjee Tuesday said the
Eden Gardens pitch for the
India-Pakistan One-Day International (ODI) Thursday
would be a “proper one-day
wicket” with something for
everybody. “It will be a proper
one-day wicket assisting
stroke-play for the batsmen.
There will be bounce for the
pacers and spinners will get
purchase in the later stages of
the game,” said Mukherjee.
Mukherjee had courted controversy after slamming India
skipper Mahendra Singh
Dhoni over his demand for a
square turner in the Test match
against England last month.
Down a game in the threematch series, India will meet
Pakistan for the second game
at the Eden here Thursday. “It
will be the same pitch which
was used for the Test match
against England, but it will be a
typical one-day wicket with lot
of runs,” said Mukherjee. The
veteran also said that dew will
not be an important factor as it
is a day-and-night match.
“During this time of the year
you get some dew but with the
availability of dew-fighting
equipment, I do not think dew
would be a factor,” added
Mukherjee. Meanwhile, the
Pakistan team, which arrived
in the city Monday, practised
hard at the nets Tuesday. The
Indian team is slated to arrive
later in the day and have an optional practice session. Dhoni,
though, is already in the city.

Clarke can lead, rest will follow
CHRIS BARRETT AND CHLOE SALTAU

M

ICHAEL Clarke is
set to play in
Thursday's third
and final Test of the summer
against Sri Lanka in Sydney
but is likely to be rested from
some one-day internationals after
a gruelling two months in which he
has batted for more than 27 hours.
The Australian captain, the world's
leading run-scorer in 2012, has
fought to put hamstring soreness
behind him, as he did in Melbourne
last week, scoring a century in the
series-clinching rout of the tourists,
but team management is cognisant
of the need to give him a break.
He may be given time off during
the back-to-back one-day series
against Sri Lanka and West Indies -

both to be played over five matches opening up another leadership conundrum, with vice-captain Shane Watson
not due back from a calf injury until later
this month. Selectors were due for a
phone hook-up with the Cricket Australia
board before the New Year's Test to
sign off on a back-up for Clarke if he
goes down at any stage at the SCG
and they will also present contingency plans for the one-day series.
Among the possible stand-in, limited-overs captains in the absence
of Clarke and Watson are the Australian Twenty20 leader George Bailey and the retiring Mike Hussey.
Another player surprisingly discussed has
been NSW allrounder Steve
Smith, who
presided

over the Sydney Sixers' win in the inaugural Big Bash League but who did not feature in Australia's most recent one-dayers,
against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates. Opener David Warner is regarded
as a leader of the future but is
not expected to come into
captaincy calculations this
summer. The green light
for Clarke in Sydney
means standby batsman
Usman Khawaja is set to
miss out once again, with
wicketkeeper Matthew
Wade promoted to No. 6 in
the order and all-rounder
Glenn Maxwell poised to make
his Test debut, in all likelihood at the expense
of the unlucky
Jackson
Bird.
The only com-

plicating factor was the Australian team's
discovery of a green Sydney wicket on
Tuesday. In eight Test innings since November, Clarke has batted for 1627 minutes, chalking up two double centuries,
and another hundred, on the way. He
missed five matches of the ODI tri-series
against India and Sri Lanka last summer
due to back and hamstring problems after
another lengthy summer of batting in the
4-0 Test hammering of India.
With Australia's Test squad due in
the subcontinent in mid-February for a
four-match series against India, the oneday season is the only time for a
breather. ''It simply depends on the fact
there is a Test match and how he recovers from his hamstring and his back,''
said general manager of team performance Pat Howard, when asked about
Clarke being rested. ''There is nothing
conclusive at this stage.''

ERENA Williams credited a
more subdued lifestyle on
Tuesday for the current form
which has put her on track
to succeed fellow-American Chris
Evert as the oldest world number one
in women's tennis.
Williams, who recorded a serve of
200 kms an hour during a secondround 6-2 6-2 win over France's Alize
Cornet at the Brisbane International,
is currently ranked third in the world.
However, the 31-year-old is regarded as the pre-eminent woman
player at the moment after winning
the Wimbledon, U.S. and Olympic titles last year. Evert was aged 30 years
11 months when she was number one
in 1985. "I'm really boring now,"
Williams told reporters. "I used to be
fun. "For a fun time, call Serena. Now
for a fun time, do not call me. I don't
know what happened to me.
"I think I just got older and I realised I can't be that fun girl for the
rest of my life. I think that's pretty
much what it is. I could be the oldest
number one. I don't know how that
goes with the funnest." Williams said
she had not celebrated New Year's
eve. "I've been having insomnia," she
said. "I don't know what time zone I'm
in. I don't know if I'm in Florida or if
I'm in Mauritius or if I'm in Brazil.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; breezes into Brisbane quarters
BrIsBane: Serena Williams booked her place in the quarter-finals of the
Brisbane International with the minimum of fuss on Tuesday by seeing off
Alize Cornet. The third seed dropped just four games en route to a 6-2 6-2
victory, giving her French opponent little chance. Elsewhere in the women's
draw, Sara Errani was beaten by Daniel Hantuchova, the fifth seed losing 46 6-1 7-5, while sixth seed Petra Kvitova was also defeated by Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova 6-4 7-5. Ksenia Pervak went through against Urszula Radwanska 3-6 6-2 7-6 (8/6). In the men's competition, home favourite Lleyton
Hewitt overcame a second-set wobble to beat Igor Kunitsyn 6-3 4-6 6-2 in
his opener. Tommy Robredo was also put to the test by American Ryan Harrison in his first-round match before prevailing 6-4 7-6 (6/4). Denis Istomin
looked much more at ease, dropping just three games against Martin Klizan,
while John Millman got the better of Tatsuma Ito. Also in the first round,
Alejandro Falla saw off Jesse Levine, Jurgen Melzer went three sets against
Denis Kudla and David Goffin saw off Matthew Ebden. Grigor Dimitrov was
a 6-3 7-6 (10/8) winner over Brian Baker of the United States. aGEnCiEs
"I just don't know anymore. My
body is like telling me, 'Don't sleep
ever'. I'm nocturnal right now. I can't
sleep at night. I was awake for New
Year's eve. I heard all the fire crackers
and I would have loved to have seen it
but I had a match today so I didn't do
anything fun."
World number two Maria Sharapova's preparations for the Australian
Open starting in two weeks' time were
interrupted by the collarbone injury
which led to her pulling out of an exhibition match against Caroline Wozniacki at the end of last year.
Sharapova withdrew from her sec-

ond-round match against Australian
Jarmila Gajdosova and said she had
been just practising ground strokes
because of the injury.
"I still have quite a bit of time to
prepare for the Australian Open," she
said. "I'm on the right track, been
training really well, so I just don't
want to jeopardise what I've gained in
the off-season so far."
In other matches, world number
six Sara Errani was defeated 4-6 6-1 75 by Slovakia's Daniela Hantuchova
while number eight Petra Kvitovia was
beaten 6-4 7-5 by Russia's Anastasia
Pavlyuchenkova.

women
Challenge hockey
Cup in progress
LAHORE
sTaff REpoRT

Key sporting dates of 2013
australian
open
tennis,
Melbourne Jan. 14-27
Rafa Nadal, one of four separate grand
slam winners last year, will miss the opening
tournament after illness disrupted his recovery from a chronic knee injury. The Spaniard
has not played since he lost in the second
round at Wimbledon last June. Novak
Djokovic, who defeated Nadal last year in the
longest final in history, made a perfect start
to his season by winning the World Tennis
Championship exhibition in Abu Dhabi last
weekend. Victoria Azarenka is the defending
women's champion.
n
african Cup of nations Jan. 19Feb. 10., south africa
Didier Drogba leads an Ivory Coast
team packed with talent and experience
and determined to atone for the disappointments of this year's tournament
where they did not concede a goal but still
finished runners-up to Zambia. Zambia,
who defeated Ivory Coast 8-7 on penalties
in the final, have kept faith with the squad
who won them a first continental title.
n

Champions League last 16, first leg
fixtures Feb. 12-13 and 19-20.
return matches March 5-6 and 1213. Final wembley stadium May 25.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo returns
to Old Trafford, home of his former club
Manchester United, in the pick of the last-16
ties which will also pit United manager Alex
Ferguson against former Chelsea boss Jose
Mourinho. Ferguson's team headed the Premier League standings at the close of 2012
but Mourinho, who has been frequently
linked with the Old Trafford job when the 71year-old Scot finally decides to retire, is
under pressure. Real are third in La Liga, 16
points behind Barcelona, and Mourinho's future at Madrid is uncertain if his side are
knocked out of the Champions League.
n
British and Irish Lions tour of
australia, June 1-July 6.
The pride of the four home nations
gather for their four-yearly expedition to
the southern hemisphere, this time to
Australia where the Wallabies host a
three-test series. Brian O'Driscoll, the
n

great Irish centre and a veteran of three
Lions tours, is a leading candidate to captain the tour party for the second time although he has yet to play this season after
ankle surgery. A Lions' tour is one of the
last great romantic sporting ventures
when the best players in England, Wales,
Scotland and Ireland subsume national rivalries in a greater cause. Although they
have too little time to prepare after the Six
Nations and club seasons, they have the
talent to beat the twice world champions.
n
ashes cricket series, australia tour
england for a five-test series
followed by five in australia
starting at the end of the year. First
test trent Bridge, nottingham,
July 10-14.
Alastair Cook, captain of Ashes holders
England, and his opposing number Michael
Clarke will lead from the front after both
men enjoyed wonderful years with the bat
in 2012. Cook scored a record five centuries
in his first five tests as captain and was instrumental in turning a 1-0 deficit in India

Sharapova pulls out
of Brisbane International
BrIsBane: Maria Sharapova has pulled out of the Brisbane
International on Tuesday as a precaution before the Australian
Open. The French Open champion recently withdrew from an
exhibition in South Korea because of an injured collarbone. "I
don't want to jeopardise what I've gained in the off-season so
far," said the world number two. Sharapova, 25, withdrew from
the Brisbane event last year but recovered to reach the Australian Open final, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka. The
French Open champion added: "I still have quite a bit of time to
prepare for Australia. I'm on the right track, been training really
well." The 2011 champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic
lost 6-4 7-5 to Russia's Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova while fifth
seed Sara Errani of Italy was also knocked out, losing 4-6 6-1 75 to Slovak Daniela Hantuchova. The season-opening event has
now lost five of its top eight seeds following first-round exits
for seventh seed Sam Stosur of Australia and eighth seed Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark on Monday. aGEnCiEs

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

into a 2-1 series win. Clarke tallied an Australian record 1,545 runs in the calendar
year at an average of 106.33. England lost
more tests than they won in 2012 but in
home conditions at least their bowling,
headed by James Anderson who bowled
magnificently in unfriendly conditions in
India, should have the edge. Australia have
also lost two middle-order stalwarts in
Ricky Ponting and Michael Hussey who retired during the current Australian season.
n
world athletics championships,
Moscow aug. 10-18.
Usain Bolt, the only man to retain the
Olympic 100 and 200 metres titles, has already set his goals for the 2013 season. Bolt
says he will concentrate on speed and on
winning back the world 100 title he relinquished to Jamaican training partner
Yohan Blake in Daegu in 2011 after falsestarting in the final. Another London
Olympics double gold medallist, Britain's
Mo Farah, plans to run both the 5,000 and
10,000 in Moscow before considering a
possible move up to the marathon.

Pakistan Army notched up wide 5-0 win
over Sindh and Wapda hardly defeated
spirited Railways 1-0 in the 1st Womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s
Challenge Cup Hockey Tournament here
at the outer ground of the national
hockey stadium here on Tuesday. Soldiers led the first half 4-0 against lowly
rated Sindh and seemed contended with
their first half lead, rarely coming up with
aggression lacking much needed fire in
their attacks the following session of the
play. Sana Arshad who struck two goals
gave her side lead as early as in the second minute with Shahida adding a field
goal in the 7th minute and Shamshad
Bashir collecting Army's third goals in
the 22nd minute with Ayeha Rafiq
adding a field goal seven minutes before
the close of the first half. The only scorer
of the second half was Sana who scored
in the 58th minute in a lively mid field
move. Wapda played an empty first half
against Railways . Ayesha emerged the
hero of the match when she showed
greater agility and anticipation to score a
field goal in the 65th minute to lead her
side to success. Matches for tomorrow,
Wednesday, Wapda vs Sindh at 1130hrs
and Railways vs Punjab at 1300hrs.

watson progresses in Auckland
auCKLanD: Heather Watson ensured a winning start for British sport in
2013 by overcoming fifth seed Sorana Cirstea in the first round of the ASB Classic in Auckland. The 20-year-old played her part in the success story that was
2012 by becoming the first Briton to win a WTA singles title since 1998, and on
Tuesday
she won
the first set
6-3 before
her Romanian opponent was
forced to
retire because of illness. The
British
number
one will
face Kiki
Bertens of
Holland in
the next
round.
aGEnCiEs

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:28 AM Page 19

Sports 18
Berlusconi:
Milan don’t
need Balotelli
MADRID
aGEnCiEs

Having fallen down the pecking
order at the Etihad Stadium,
Balotelli is widely expected to leave
Manchester City in the near future,
with Serie A sides Juventus and AC
Milan reportedly to leading the
chase for his signature. However, Rossoneri president
Berlusconi put to bed rumours linking the striker
to his club by telling
Radio Mars that Massimiliano Allegri's team
already possessed a
player with more potential than Balotelli
in Niang. "We
sold [Zlatan]
Ibrahimovic
and
Thiago
Silva [in the
summer] for
monetary
needs, but
the others
left for age

reasons," Berlusconi shared. "Our
goal is to return as a big team in
three years' time, to start a new
cycle with [Stephan] El Shaarawy who is an extraordinary player - and
Mattia De Sciglio, who will become
a champion. Niang is better than
Balotelli." Milan manager Allegri
also advised the City forward to get
his act together before his erratic
form and behavior destroys his
own career. "I don’t like talking
about players in other teams,
in any case, it’s a shame he still
hasn’t shown his talent and I
think he needs to hurry up, because you’re 30 before you
know it," he noted.

Robson bounced Benitez happy to win with ‘character’
out of Shenzhen
fergie dismisses retirement talk
LONDON

aGEnCiEs

SHENZHEN
aGEnCiEs

Laura Robson`s run in the Shenzhen
Open ended at the second-round stage,
with the Briton losing in straight sets to
Monica Niculescu.
Robson was barely in the game against
the Romanian, losing 6-2 6-3 as she
failed to live up to her seventh seeding.
The world number 53 will now spent the
remainder of the week fine-tuning her
preparations for the Australian Open
which starts on January 14.

Chelsea manager Rafael Benitez wants
to win with style but he is more than
happy to grind out victories to keep their
momentum going. Four successive Barclays Premier League wins have lifted
the Blues back into the top four and have
raised hopes of what appeared an unlikely title challenge.
But having swept aside struggling
Aston Villa 8-0, they had to dig deep to
beat Norwich 1-0 at Carrow Road and at
Goodison Park on Sunday clawed back
victory after conceding a second-minute
opener. Benitez has plenty of flair at his
disposal but admits he is equally satisfied
when players show the spirit needed to
get three points. And with a trip to bottom club QPR on Wednesday, the
Spaniard accepts it may be more of the
latter is required. "You could see the
character of the players at Everton because in the first 25 minutes we
were not in the game, but little by little we were controlling and creating chances,"
he said. "We knew we
could create even more
and I was really
pleased with the
performance of
the team. "We
showed the
level of our
team and the options we have and
I think it was one
of our most difficult games. "This is

LonDon: Sir Alex Ferguson has stated there is no likelihood of an imminent managerial vacancy at Manchester United. With Pep Guardiola due to
end his post-Barcelona sabbatical next summer, Jose Mourinho tipped to
leave Real Madrid and David Moyes' Everton contract ready to expire,
three of the major candidates to replace Ferguson could
be available at the end of the season. It has led to suggestions Ferguson, who celebrated his 71st birthday on
Monday, will call time on his United career, which
now extends beyond 26 years. The Scot accepts all three
men are at the top of their profession. However, in an interview with the Abu Dhabi Sports channel, Ferguson
makes it clear he is going nowhere. "I'm hoping to stay
on for a bit of time," he said. It is widely accepted few
will get to know when Ferguson is ready to call it a day,
with chief executive David Gill the man tasked with advising the Glazer family about a replacement. aGEnCiEs
the process of understanding each other,
my players have to understand what I
want. "Our idea is to play the same way,
playing good football
if we can but if
not at least try
to win showing
character.
"Japan
(the
World
Club
C h a m p i onships) was
important for
us because we
were there a
long time training, we had at least
two or three training sessions together where we
could do new things. "We are

still making some mistakes which we
have to manage but the team is much better. "The main thing for me is the attitude
of the players: they are keen to learn. "We
had a discussion among the staff and we
are really pleased with the way they train
and behave every day, and that is really
important for the future."
Benitez has been credited with getting striker Fernando Torres scoring
again but the manager has been impressed with the selfless work his compatriot is doing for the team. "It is not easy
for him to fight against two centre-backs
but he creates space for (Juan) Mata and
I think the understanding between the
two is very good," said Benitez. "He is
doing a great job for the team. Sometimes
it is not about just scoring goals, it is creating the space for other players."

Known sports psychologist from Germany,
Jurgen Walter has said that Pakistan is rich
in sports talent and there is dire need to impart the budding sportsmen the latest
knowledge for maintaining good health to
become good sportsmen in different disciplines. He was speaking at a seminar on
sports psychology organized by Pakistan
Table tennis Federation here on Tuesday at
Chromatex Hall. Focusing on sports psychology, the foreign expert said it is imperative to develop a culture of sports in
Pakistan on the pattern of modern countries to help the aspiring sportsmen to excel
in their respective sports by maintaining a
higher standard of psyche. . He explained
scientifically and logically what should be
psyche of player in the start, middle and at
crucial moments of game. How we should
groom the players, how to give comfort levels to players so that they can win the titles.
Walter is providing consultancy to football,
Volleyball, Tennis, Handball, Table Tennis
teams of BUNDUS leagues Germany. President PTTF, Riaz Ahmed, Secretary Ahmer
Malik and officials of Punjab Table Tennis
Association praised the efforts of Abdul
Qayyum Khan and Ali Sajjad Faisal for extending patronage and help for organizing
beneficial activity . In the end a former National Champion and table tennis coach in
Germany Ali Sajjad Faisal gave the useful
coaching tips to the participants of the seminar .In a brain storming questions and answer session was also held in which players
discussed a number of aspects pertaining to
sports. Walter gave some gifts to participants and awarded a cash prize of
Rs.10000 along with souvenir to Asim
Qureshi, who has declared best table tennis
player of the year 2012.

nIT Club get a tie in
MUFAP T-20 Cricket
KARACHI
sTaff REpoRT

NIT Club played its fourth round match
of MUFAP T-20 Cricket Tournament
2012-13 against IGI Club which ended
in a tie. The sensational event, played
at Young Fighters Cricket Ground
Karachi turned out to a tie. NIT batted
first after winning the toss to score 136
runs in 20 overs. Arif Misbah and Mattiuddin Siddiqui were main scorers with
36 and 21 runs respectively. Adeel of
IGI took 2 wickets. In reply IGI tied the
match on last ball. Atif bowled superbly
from NIT side and took two wickets.

Murray knows he must do more to become ‘sir andy’
BRISBANE
aGEnCiEs

Andy Murray is coming off a season
in which he became the first British
man in 76 years to win a Grand Slam
singles title and won Olympic gold at
the London Games but the Scot does
not think he has done enough to deserve a knighthood yet.
The 25-year-old received the Order
of the British Empire (OBE) in a special U.K. New year Honours list,
though some of his supporters thought
his victories at the US Open and
Olympics warranted a higher honour.
Bradley Wiggins, the first British
cyclist to win the Tour de France, and
Ben Ainslie, the most decorated

Olympic yachtsman, received knighthoods but Murray said he would have
to accomplish much more before he
could perhaps one day join them.
"You need to do a lot, for a long
time, to deserve an honour like that,"
Murray told a news conference at the
Brisbane International on Tuesday.
"A lot of the sportsmen and
women have been given that just because their sport isn't necessarily in
the spotlight all the time, it's easy to
forget what they've done for 10, 15
years. "I mean, some of them have
won 10 gold medals in world championships, four or five Olympic medals,
and have been doing it for years.
"I've only been doing it for a couple years, so I think I'll definitely need

to win a few more matches and have
more tournaments to have a chance of
getting that." Sir Sean Connery and
Sir Alex Ferguson were in Murray's
corner as spectators during the US
Open but he said he only referred to
them as Sean and Alex. "I think with
the people around you, I think everyone just kind of stays the same, and
then it would be people that you don't
know that will come up to you and address you as that," Murray said.
"But I would hope I wouldn't want
my friends and family to call me that."
Murray's win over Novak Djokovic at
the US Open in September has finally
freed him of the questions about when
he would make his grand slam breakthrough. The world No. 3 said win-

ning Olympic gold and his first major
in the same year had had its perks but
with a coach like Ivan Lendl to guide
him he was never likely to get carried
away by the success.
"The few weeks afterwards
around the Olympics time and the US
Open, I got a few upgrades on flights
and things like that, which is nice, but
that's died down a little bit over the
last few months," he said.
"Life hasn't changed too much.
Obviously the few weeks afterwards
were very busy. Then once you start
travelling and playing tournaments
again, and get back into the routine of
training and practicing, it hasn't really
changed that much, to be honest,
which has been nice.

wednesday, 2 January, 2013

KHI 02-01-2013_Layout 1 1/2/2013 1:28 AM Page 20

19
ogrA announces
new Cng prices,
APCngA unimpressed
Prices will be rs 74.44 per kg for region-i and rs 65.78 per kg for region-ii
ISLAMABAD

F

KasHif abbasi

OLLOWING the Economic
Coordination Committee’s
(ECC) approval, the Oil
and Gas Regulatory Authority (OGRA) on Tuesday increased CNG prices by Rs 12.80
per kg for Region-I and Rs 11.62 per kg
for Region-II.
In a notification, OGRA fixed Rs
74.44 per kg for Region-I, comprising of
Potohar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and
Balochistan; and Rs 65.78 per kg for Region-II, comprising of Sindh and Punjab.
On December 22, the Supreme Court
directed OGRA to come up with a consumer-friendly pricing formula. In its
order, the court held OGRA responsible for
high CNG prices and observed that the authority failed to protect consumers’ rights.
However, the All Pakistan CNG Association (APNCGA) rejected the new
prices. In accordance with approved
formula on CNG pricing, the profit of
CNG owners has been set at Rs 4.32 per
kg. It has also been decided to give Rs
7.22 per kg as cost of electricity and Rs
5.20 per kg under the head operating
cost to the owners.
However, the standoff between
OGRA and APCNGA will persist as the
latter, which used to earn more than Rs
25 per kg, rejected the decision on CNG
pricing. Hinting at going on a strike,
APCNGA leader Ghayas Abdullah

Paracha said it was not a fair and just
decision, terming it illogical and against
the CNG sector.
He said the latest CNG pricing decision is one-sided and irrational in which
demand for uniform gas prices and taxation as well as right to just profit margin
were not accommodated. He said, “A cut
in taxation would have helped the CNG
sector and the masses, which was unfortunately ignored while the hike in power
tariff was not accommodated.”
He was of the view that the sub-committee of the ECC formed to resolve the
issue had already taken decision in the
meeting, adding that the stakeholders
were only called to let them know about
the decision, which was against the
claims of the body.
Paracha said the government seemed
uninterested in resolving the crisis and
was hell- bent on worsening the situation
due to some reasons, he said, adding that
the association would challenge the decision in the court. He said further they
would also announce a schedule for
protests in favour of their demands. The
association would give a strike call after
two days, he said.
Advisor to Prime Minister Dr Asim
Hussain told reporters he was ready to
review and revisit the CNG prices.
However, he categorically declared that
old pricing formula and prices would
not be implemented at any cost. He
said determination of prices was the
mandate of OGRA.

PML-Q will maintain MQM, PML-Q support
for Qadri a melodrama
alliance with PPP

KaRaCHi: a paramilitary personnel inspects the site of
a bombing near ayesha Manzil on Tuesday. IMraN GILLaNI

Six women were among seven people
killed when unidentified gunmen opened
fire on a vehicle transporting them in
Swabi district on Tuesday.
Officials said the staff of Support with
Working Solution, a non-government organisation, was on way back after meeting
locals in Sher Aslam Keley village when
they were attacked.
Armed men riding two motorcycles

opened fire at the pick-up truck on the
service lane along the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway near Swabi interchange.
The officials said seven people were
killed on the spot while another sustained
serious injuries. Those killed included five
teachers and a lady health visitor, and belong to various areas of Swabi. The bodies
and the injured were moved to District
Headquarter Hospital, Swabi.
No one has claimed responsibility for
the latest act of violence, but police officials believe it was an act of terrorism.

Compared to other parts of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa, Swabi has seen relative
peace in the last several years. However,
rare acts of violence, including targeted
killing and blowing up of schools, have
been reported.
Support With Working Solution President Abid said the NGO was running a
health education awareness project in
Sher Aslam village for the last one-and-ahalf years. The deceased included two
from the medical and five from the education sector.

Pakistan should not be
linked to Tahrir Square

LAHORE

ISLAMABAD

ISLAMABAD

sTaff REpoRT

sTaff REpoRT

sTaff REpoRT

Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid senior
leader and Deputy Prime Minister
Chaudhry Pervez Elahi on Tuesday
said his party’s support for Dr Tahirul
Qadri, chief of Tehreek Minhajul
Quran, did not imply that the PML-Q
was parting ways with the Pakistan
People’s Party-led coalition government at the Centre.
Talking to reporters, Elahi said his
party would contest the next general
elections on the basis of seat adjustment with the PPP. “Dialogue with
other parties is also underway for seat
adjustment,” he said. The PML-Q
leader said talks with Dr Qadri chief
should not be treated unusually,
adding that Qadri’s movement was
aimed at eliminating corruption and
was not against democracy.
Elahi added that a province could not
be run through offering subsidies to
the public. He said the Punjab government was spending the province’s education budget on unnecessary projects,
adding that the rapid bus service project for Lahore had led to increased
troubles for the city’s traffic system.

Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Chaudhry Nisar Ali
Khan on Tuesday said the Muttahida
Qaumi Movement (MQM) and Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PMLQ) support for Dr Tahirul Qadri’s
long march is merely a drama.
He said that the people were not
aware of political tacticians who are
playing with their passions.
According to a statement, the opposition leader said that the political
structure and system of the country
was not too weak as the nation was
out to take decisions regarding its
future on roads.
He said that the MQM and PMLQ’s support for the January 14
long march is nothing but a trick
and tactic and has nothing to do
with reality.
“MQM has been enjoying political
power as a coalition partner of different governments for 10 years and
suddenly it has decided to join hands
with so-called ‘revolutionary forces’.
This is absolutely obnoxious and
funny,” concluded Nisar.

Information and Broadcasting
Minister Qamar Zaman Kaira has
asked Minhajul Quran chief Dr
Tahirul Qadri not to link Pakistan
to Cairo’s Tahrir Square.
Talking to journalists, he said people used to gather at Tahrir Square
to protest against a dictator,
whereas there was a democratic
system functioning in Pakistan
where every citizen’s voice was
being heard.
“Calling the army to aid a long
march against a democratic government is unconstitutional, condemnable and dangerous,” he said.
However, Baitul Maal Chairman
Zamarrud Khan said democracy
does not abolish the basic rights of
the people.
“Tahirul Qadri has the right to
stage public gatherings and meetings as long as he is not defying
the constitution,” he said.
“Tahirul Qadri’s suggestions would
be implemented only if they are in
line with the constitution,” he
added.

Published by Arif Nizami at Plot No 79, Sector 24, Korangi Industrial Area Karachi.